


You Sang to Me

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-25
Updated: 2010-04-25
Packaged: 2019-01-19 07:10:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12405546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: Harry Potter was changed into a vampire when he was sixteen. Now, ten years after the war is over, he just wants a change in scenery and a different life. What'll happen when he meets the Cullens? HP/Twilight crossover. ECHP slash.





	1. I: Moving to Forks

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

Chapter 1 - Moving to Forks 

Harry Potter sighed impatiently and tapped his foot, resisting the urge to shove his way out of the damned plane. He rubbed his temples in agitation, his slender fingers clenching his carry-on bag as his eyebrow twitched. If he felt even more hot breath down his neck, he wasn’t so sure if he could restrain himself from ripping out throats. Harry nearly cried out in relief when he was able to exit the plane. As he stepped out into the airport, Harry smiled somewhat sadly. His heart felt both heavy and light at the same time. Heavy because he missed London and his friends terribly, yet light because a change in scenery was much needed.

Ever since the war was over and Voldemort was dead, Harry felt like something in his life was missing. He had distressed over feeling his way, especially since the Weasleys and Hermione had been so kind to him and were basically his family. Harry had figured when the war was all over, he could enjoy life and relax. But, instead, he was restless. And, after enduring such torture for a couple of years, Harry finally worked up the courage to take his money out of his Gringotts’ vaults, not all of it though, and decided to relocate to America. Of course, he had first researched places that wouldn’t…ah…affect him badly. See, Harry, for years now, has kept a secret from everybody. Not that he didn’t trust anybody well enough, no, that wasn’t the reason. After years of being belittled by his only living blood relatives, fear of rejection ruled deeply within Harry’s heart. Even the Weasleys and Hermione couldn’t accept him completely if they knew what he was.

For ten years, since just before the Final Battle, Harry Potter has been a vampire. This came to be a few nights before his birthday while he took a stroll through Privet Drive, attempting to make it back to his current residence before night fell and he was encompassed by total darkness. Of course, the only way to do this would have been to take shortcuts. One moment he was walking calmly down an alleyway, the next he was slammed against the wall and something was biting his neck. He had tried to fight off the thing that was attacking him, but the only thing he managed to do was bruise his hands and legs. It was at that moment, when he felt his life draining him, that he realized the thing that attacked him wasn’t human. No, that was all too painfully clear when he felt those teeth in his skin and the assailant’s mouth sucking blood from his wound. He was getting weaker and weaker, and had no strength to go for his wand and retaliate against the being. When he was completely drained of life and his heart was beating painfully slowly, the creature dropped him carelessly onto the ground. A nearby street lamp glowed, its light spreading to Harry’s forehead where his hair had parted to show the tell-tale lightning bolt scar.

“Oh, fuck, I just drained Harry Potter!” Harry’s attacker had said, panicky as the creature paced back and forth. “What the hell am I going to do? I’ll be tortured if the Elder gets wind of this!”

Harry had groaned, his eyes starting to close on their own accord. The rest of what happened had been a blur for Harry, not remembering much except for an overwhelming sense of pain. His blood felt like it was searing in his veins and traveling throughout his body, burning him completely. The agony was unbearable and he had screamed for hours; it was a wonder nobody came to find him. Of course, while he was delirious with pain, he hadn’t been able to feel his attacker lift him up and Apparate them away to someplace unknown to him.

_It felt like an eternity when his blood finally stopped feeling like magma. Instead of teh searing heat it had been, it had cooled down into something tingly. Harry awoke feeling completely different. He felt like, well, like he was reborn. His body changed in ways he couldn't fathom; his hair had gotten longer, his nails were now elongated and looked deadly, his body was more lithe and graceful, and he was all too aware of the new, pointy teeth in his mouth. Hesitantly, Harry's hand lifted and gingerly touched his neck where his new scar resided. It didn't hurt, but still he flinched. Harry swallowed thickly when the reality of what happened started to sink in. Surprisingly enough, he didn't feel any anger or disgust at what he had become. Instead, he felt acceptance, curiosity, and a twinge of excitement. A part of him felt like he should hate the fact that he now had to drink blood in order to "live", but he didn't. Harry had a gut feeling that everything would end up alright and that feeling was only reinforced when he realized the thought of drinking human blood made him nauseous._

__

His stomach was burning, though, and he knew that he’d have to feed soon. The gnawing in his stomach, while getting increasingly worse, was merely uncomfortable and not at all painful. It was quite odd and the thought of warm, rich blood sliding down his throat made him salivate. Harry looked around the room he was in for the exquisite elixir of life when he took in his surroundings for the first time since his awakening. There was a small desk in the corner next to the door. It had a laptop, a lamp, and a couple of books atop it. Harry found himself walking to the door, away from the twin bed he had been resting on, which was the only other piece of furniture in the otherwise bare room, and twisted the knob. He gasped as the doorknob crushed instantly in his hand. Harry jerked his hand away, only to pull the small part off the door complete. Awkwardly, Harry placed the squished up doorknob on the desk. Upon hearing footsteps, Harry stiffened, ears perking and nose twitching.

__

A masculine scent wafted through his nose as well as a frightened, female one. He could smell the blood rushing through the female’s veins and suppressed the very human urge to be sick. Harry frowned and quickly retreated to the back of the room, his body zooming across the room quietly with inhuman speed. Despite the door currently missing the other half of the knob, it opened easily enough. Immediately, the most handsome man Harry had ever laid eyes on entered the room, a leash that was attached to the woman’s neck in his hand. He had silky, mid-back length blonde hair that glistened even in the dim light. Hazel eyes gazed into Harry’s emerald ones deeply as if the man was trying to look into Harry’s soul, or what was left of it. The man was dressed in silk, pulling off an aristocratic air that Harry thought only the Malfoy’s could manage. Now that he thought about it, this man looked like a Malfoy, except for the eyes, of course. His skin was smooth and pale, like alabaster or marble, unlike Harry’s golden tan.

__

“I see you’re awake,” the man said softly, his voice more beautiful and musical than that of a piano. “I brought you some food.”

__

Harry’s already pale face blanched even further as he realized the terrified woman was to be his dinner. “No,” he said strongly, feeling surprised as his own voice sounded somewhat musical and enchanting. “I will not feed from humans.”

__

The man frowned slightly. “Aw, and I went through all the trouble of catching her. Oh well, I suppose.” He turned to the woman and used his claws to cut the leash he had on her. She squeaked in fright and her eyes rolled up into the back of her head. Harry managed to catch her quite easily and walked over to the bed. Almost gently, he put her in it.

__

“Who’re you? And why’d you attack me?” Harry demanded, looking blankly at the vampire that had the decency to look both sheepish and guilty.

__

“Well, my name is Acastus,” the vampire mumbled before smiling apologetically. “And I’m terribly sorry about changing you. It wasn’t my intention. I hadn’t fed for a while and just tackled the next sweet smelling human I could reach.”

__

Harry blinked in surprise. “I smelled sweet? Is that good or bad?”

__

“Both,” Acastus decided with a half-smirk. “Good for us vampires looking for a particularly tasty meal; bad for you for that makes you an easy target.”

__

Harry pondered this. “And how do I smell now?” he asked hesitantly, not quite sure if he wanted to know the answer.

__

Acastus grinned slightly as he appeared next to Harry in an instant, leaning in and breathing in the scent of Harry’s neck deeply. “You smell just as divine now as you did then,” he whispered huskily. Harry gulped inaudibly and maneuvered his way around the now laughing vampire.

__

“Why did you bring me here?” Harry demanded, feeling more than slightly awkward.

__

“I couldn’t leave you in the street,” Acastus said seriously, all signs of joking erased completely. “Newborn vampires are–”

__

“Stronger, faster, and thirstier than seasoned ones. I know all of this,” Harry interrupted. “But, as you can see, I don’t thirst for human blood. So how about letting me go?”

__

“Nice try,” Acastus said, smirking slightly. “You still need to be trained, and as your Sire, the responsibility falls to me.”

__

Harry considered this carefully; he obviously needed the help controlling his strength–the poor doorknob had been a fine example of this–and he really couldn’t tell anyone else about his becoming a vampire. The Wizarding World would without a doubt cast him out; label him a dark creature and, after he got rid of their screw up, accuse him of trying to become another Dark Lord. The logical part of Harry’s brain told him he couldn’t trust Acastus–that he didn’t know what this vampire was capable of or what he could do. Another part of him, though, told him that Acastus was trustworthy and would never hurt him.

__

“How do I know I can trust you?” Harry asked, looking at the amused vampire suspiciously.

__

Acastus sauntered over towards Harry, his hips swaying dangerously. Harry unconsciously moved backwards until a wall collided with his back. With a laugh, Acastus placed both of his arms on either side of Harry, leaning in close to take another deep breath of that deliciously sweet-smelling scent. “Trust your gut,” he whispered seductively. “I am your Sire, Harry. Do you know what this means?”

__

“Yes,” Harry muttered, shifting uncomfortably as he avoided Acastus’ gaze. Harry felt pretty stupid for allowing himself to be so distracted by Acastus that he actually forgot his lessons in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

__

“Say it,” Acastus murmured, pressing his lips against Harry’s sweet, pale neck.

__

Harry gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, before he found the strength to speak. It was a bit hard to concentrate when Acastus’ hard body was pressed against his own–he couldn’t deny the tiny inkling of attraction he felt towards the blond vampire. “As my Sire, I will feel safe with you. There’s a bond between us and even if we hated each other, we wouldn’t be able to attack each other,” Harry replied, swallowing the venom that filled his mouth.

__

The blond vampire chuckled slightly and backed away, though his eyes still smoldered with lust. “Exactly,” he said happily, seemingly ignoring what had transpired between them mere moments ago.

__

Harry was silent a while. “I’m supposed to stay with my relatives,” he said somewhat sadly. “Apparently, while I’m at their house, Death Eaters can’t attack me.”

__

Acastus rolled his eyes. “Your relatives are Muggles, right? It’ll take very little to convince them to not only keep their mouths shut but to also let you spend the rest of the summer with me. Besides, you’re a vampire now. Do you really think staying with your relatives will be the best for your protection?”

__

Harry seemed to ponder this for a while. “I hope you have a plan,” he decided, offering Acastus a small grin.

__

With a small sigh, Harry left the airport and pulled out a piece of paper. Acastus had been the one to set everything up for him–with a bit more enthusiasm than Harry had expected–and had also been a little disappointed that Harry wished to live alone. Harry knew Acastus wasn’t really hurt, though; their relationship, while strange, was that of really good friends. Well, friends that once had an attraction towards each other. Setting his eyes on the instructions, Harry almost immediately found the car Acastus had bought him and when he had, his jaw nearly dropped to the ground. While the piece of paper merely claimed that the car, which was a convertible, would be black, shiny, and have a green lightning bolt on both sides with a silver outline, he hadn’t expected the car to be so damn new!

Harry wasn’t car-savvy, but he knew a hot car when he saw one. He hadn’t expected such a sexy, exotic piece of machinery when Acastus had said that he bought Harry a car; then again, knowing Acastus, Harry really should’ve expected it. The blond vampire loved to spoil Harry with luxurious gifts under the pretense that he thought Harry would look hotter in whatever was purchased. Harry knew the real reason, though; as his Sire, Acastus felt the need to take care of him. Harry was his Childe, and though they had more of a friend type of bond, there were still instincts that came naturally. The raven-haired vampire knew better than to fight with Acastus, though he still felt embarrassed with pleasure at being spoiled. Having never had much as a child, Harry gladly accepted what Acastus wanted to give him, even though at the beginning Harry felt guilty for accepting the lavish treatment.

Excitedly hopping into the car, Harry groaned at the smell of new leather and smiled widely. The keys were in his carry-on, according to the spidery instructions, and Harry was more than happy to start driving the car. He also had his Muggle license–something Hermione had insisted he and Ron get about five years back–and his emancipation papers. Harry was having a new start which meant he was going to be sixteen all over again, and, therefore, was going to be attending the local high school. Since he had no guardian, Acastus easily whipped up emancipation papers and other documentation Harry would need like the lease to his new, completely furnished house.

Giddiness filled Harry up like a cup. He never had anticipated that starting anew would be so much fun. Following the directions on a different piece of paper, Harry was able to successfully navigate his way to his new house without too much trouble; being new to the country, he felt exceptionally happy that he only got lost once. Parking his car, Harry gasped softly at the beautiful house that was his. Acastus really had outdone himself this time and Harry knew if he were still human, tears of happiness would fall from his jeweled eyes. Harry happily entered the house and absentmindedly placed his bag on the small table by the door.

There were two floors to the house. Harry discovered that the ground floor held a dining room, kitchen, bathroom, living room, and a hallway with two closets. Going upstairs, there was another bathroom, another closet, and two bedrooms. The master bedroom, which would be Harry’s, was decorated in emerald and black. There were traces of silver and Harry couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the Slytherin touch; Acastus was more-than-likely laughing evilly as he decorated. There was a computer desk with a laptop and a lamp on it on one wall. Right next to it was a bookshelf filled with many genres–Harry was certain that had Hermione been there, she would have immediately dived into them–and a comfortable-looking beanbag chair to the left of the bookshelf. In the center of the room was a large canopy bed with a numerous amount of pillows. Across from the bed was a plasma television complete with surround sound. Harry sighed happily, realizing that this place was his new home. The house was so homey and gave off a comfortable vibe that Harry couldn’t help but be completely relaxed.

He smiled gratefully when he noticed picture frames on the bedside tables of him, Ron, and Hermione. On one of the shelves was a photo album and Harry gently grabbed it. Flipping through the pages, he felt immensely happy when he saw photographs of his family. In the beginning pages were pictures of his parents and godparents–kindly donated to Harry from Hagrid his first year at Hogwarts. After that, there were pictures of the Golden Trio during their years at Hogwarts. The vampire smiled sadly and touched the picture of a smiling Cedric Diggory, closing his eyes and fighting the warring emotions inside. Once he was calm enough, Harry flipped through more of the pages. He laughed at a picture of his godson Teddy running around with his diaper in his hands and his grandmother Andromeda chasing after him, her face that of amusement, embarrassment, and frustration. There were pictures of Rose, Harry’s niece and Ron and Hermione’s daughter, along with the other new additions to the Weasley family.

Closing the book, Harry sighed happily and skipped downstairs. He walked into the kitchen and, when discovering Acastus hadn’t gotten him food, grabbed his car keys and left his house. It was only Friday and Harry was hungry. Though he craved the blood of animals, Harry had soon discovered after his turning that he could also eat human food, though he would never get full from it. It had confused him when he found out he could still eat what he normally ate. He could taste it, feel it going down his throat, but he wouldn’t feel the satisfaction of a meal like he had when he actually was human. This was how he managed to keep his secret from his family for years and this was also how he was going to continue to keep it.

Driving aimlessly around the town, Harry finally spotted a store and stopped to get directions. He had expected the stares aimed at his car; after all, the townspeople of Forks probably couldn’t afford to own such sleek automobiles. He never noticed the silver Volvo and black Jeep pull up, nor did he notice the seven pairs of eyes that stared at him.

 


	2. II: The Cullens and Acastus

Chapter 2 – The Cullens and Acastus

Alice Cullen was not, under any circumstances, considered normal. Not by the student body at Forks High, not by humans passing by, and certainly not by her family. She was more than okay with this; her sight gave her the ability to look at things with different perspectives and she could care less what people thought of her. There were many pros to being considered weird or abnormal, Alice discovered. For example, every time she burst into inexplicable and undeniably evil laughter, nobody really paid attention to her anymore. It was considered a normal, every-day “Alice” occurrence. Because of this, Alice was able to keep a rather important vision to herself. Not even Edward knew about it, mostly because whenever Alice got into one of these moods, he assumed it was for shopping and he’d rather not delve into her mind and be tortured into boredom. This was an incredibly huge mistake on his part, not that he’d ever know it.

This particular vision Alice had, the one of utmost importance, would change the lives of her family forever. Normally, under such circumstances, Alice would’ve told her family immediately. After all, since it would affect all of them and greatly, they had a right to know. However, as this particular vision was only the beginning of a series of incredibly wonderful (though, unfortunately, _only_ _possible_ ) events, Alice decided to let her family find out on their own.

Another reason Alice didn’t want to inform her family of the visitor that would be arriving shortly is because the future isn’t always certain. Anything could change in a split second and she didn’t want to get hopes up only for them to crash down. She knew for a fact, though, that the visitor would most definitely arrive in Forks shortly. Never before had her visions been so definite and she knew her family would love the visitor, especially her big brother. Alice let out another cackle, feeling an intense giddiness build up insider her. Knowing his wife only ever got this riled up over shopping, Jasper quickly made himself scarce lest she decided to force him and Edward to be her dolls again.

Glancing at the clock, Alice couldn’t help but fidget slightly. Never had she felt so anxious—well, there _was_ the time when she had to wait for those new shoes to come out in her size (damn her tiny feet!)—about a visitor before. If she were human, she’d definitely be sweating right now. When the clock finally, _finally_ , struck two-thirty, Alice jumped out of her seat. Esme, who had been picking out the latest curtains for a new house she was decorating, looked up at her daughter in puzzlement.

“What is it, Alice?” she asked softly, tilting her head in confusion. At that moment, Carlisle entered the house and shuffled into the living room. He kissed his wife in greeting and smiled at his children.

“We should go shopping,” Alice said innocently, smiling widely.

“No!” Edward yelled from upstairs. The lovely tune he had been playing on his piano turned into a funeral march as soon as she’d uttered the words that were practically fatal to his existence.

She glared at the ceiling. “I meant at the local store, you buffoon! Esme needs some new canvases and paints, and I need to pick up some stuff for a project I’m going to be assigned in English class on Monday!” she retorted, huffing indignantly.

“It has been a while since I’ve painted anything,” Esme murmured gently, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”

“Great!” Alice chirped. “Everybody should come too; it seems like all of us will be doing some projects within the week.”

Inwardly, Alice was chuckling evilly, knowing she had just successfully manipulated her family like putty. Sensing the smug vibes coming from his wife, Jasper sent a puzzled look her way. “You might think you’ve escaped a proper shopping trip, but just you wait! There’s always tomorrow,” she said tauntingly, smirking at her husband who now had a sort of pained expression on his face. “Don’t worry, Jasper. I might try something on for you.”

Their siblings scrunched their noses as the smell of lust filled the air. Emmett looked at Rosalie with puppy eyes and, despite herself, she gave him a heated look that promised a night of fun. Edward shook his head in disgust. “Are we going to leave anytime soon?” he asked, doing the human thing and rolling his eyes.

Alice stuck her tongue out at Edward and quickly ran over to Jasper’s car. Hopping into the seat, she waited for him to start driving before she entwined her fingers with his. A part of her felt saddened that Edward was the only one without his other half; the only one to drive alone. Another part of her, much bigger than the other, knew Edward would find the person he was meant to be with fairly soon, so she quickly brightened up and bounced in her seat. Jasper looked at her amusedly and smiled lovingly at her.

They arrived at the local store in no time at all and, as if it was practiced, stepped out of their cars in unison. It was hard not to notice the obviously expensive black car they parked next to and Rosalie was immediately on it like white on rice. She stared admiringly at the car and let out a wistful sigh. Emmett chuckled and pulled her close. “I wonder who that belongs to,” he contemplated aloud.

Edward turned to Alice. “Did you see this?” he questioned, causing the others to look at her.

Alice frowned and shook her head. “I didn’t see anything,” she lied, narrowing her eyes. It wasn’t a complete lie, to be honest. She _hadn’t_ seen the really hot car, but it was probably safe to assume that it was the newcomer’s vehicle.

Esme rolled her eyes and smiled. “Don’t think too much on it, dear,” she told Alice, patting her shoulder. “We should all go inside and get what we came here before.”

“You don’t suppose it’ll be that new transfer student we’re going to get at school, do you?” he asked, looking thoughtful.

“That’s right; there is going to be a new student. I didn’t know he was rich,” Alice replied, staring off into space before shrugging her shoulders. “Come on; let’s hurry! I want to get that stupid project over and done with!”

“Speaking of projects, mind telling us what we’re going to be doing?” Emmett asked, looking at his sister expectedly.

“You and Jasper will be making a three-dimensional project on one of the battles of the Civil War for History class; that should be easy enough. Rosalie will need to make a mini-replica of a Latin country for Spanish. Edward, you’ll be making a replica of cells for Biology.” Rosalie and Edward frowned slightly, not as enthusiastic as Jasper or Emmett about their projects.

Together, the vampire family entered the store and separated; Carlisle walked with Esme to the back where the canvases were and Alice led the rest towards the Arts and Crafts section. She felt inebriated, or at least she thought this was the equivalent to feeling that way, and danced the entire way to the aisle.

“I love to shop,” she sang under her breath.

The males merely rolled their eyes while Rosalie nodded in agreement, thinking of all the lovely new clothes she would buy with Alice tomorrow. When they finally arrived at the Arts and Crafts aisle, Emmett let out a booming laugh, nearly startling the person in the aisle. Alice let out small giggles while Jasper, Rosalie, and Edward smirked, though they all bar Emmett attempted to be polite.

“Do you need some help?” Emmett asked, chuckling merrily.

As soon as they had entered the aisle, the first thing they saw was a teenage boy, about five feet six inches, trying to reach the sketchbooks on the top shelf in the back. He was jumping up and down, mumbling under his breath, and when he couldn’t get it, he resorted to stomping on the ground. The teenager turned to Emmett, looked him up and down with wide eyes, and muttered, “Well, aren’t you a big boy?”

This comment sent Alice bursting into laughter. Emmett let out a wide grin and replied in earnest, “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

“Well,” the teenager said, “when a tall person offers you help reaching something you cannot, you take it.”

The boy smiled widely as Emmett retrieved the item for him. “Here ya go,” Emmett said, still chuckling and shaking his head.

“Thank you! I’ve been trying to reach this stupid thing for ten minutes now!” He frowned slightly. “I think it was running away from me.”

Alice smiled widely at the teen. “You must be new in town; I don’t remember seeing you anywhere before. I’m Alice Cullen and these are my brothers Emmett and Edward Cullen, my boyfriend Jasper Hale and this is my sister Rosalie Hale.”

“I’m Harry Potter,” the teen replied, offering them all grins though only Emmett and Alice returned them. “And, yes, I am new. Just got to the country forty-five minutes ago.”

“How are you liking Forks so far?” Alice asked.

“It’s beautiful and the weather is just like it was in London, so I’m feeling right at home,” Harry replied, smiling as he grabbed drawing pencils and erasers.

“So, shorty, you gonna go to Forks High?” Emmett asked. He was a little surprised, mostly amused, when Harry glared at him.

“I’m not short! It’s certainly not my fault you were fed toxic waste as a child leading to your unnatural, exponential growth!” he retorted with a humph, turning his back on the tall vampire.

Emmett laughed loudly, scaring several humans passing by, and patted Harry’s head gently. “Not bad, little man. Not bad.”

Harry’s glare seemed to get more fierce, though he wasn’t truly angry. Jasper relayed this to Edward who in turn relayed it to Emmett. “If you don’t remove that appendage, you’ll find yourself without it,” he threatened.

Emmett chuckled, thinking Harry wouldn’t really be able to do much, but he took his hand away anyways, holding up both arms in a disarming manner. “Easy, panther,” he teased, silently wondering why he felt so at ease with a human.

‘ _Edward, there’s something weird about this kid,’_ Emmett expressed, his thoughts not malicious but merely curious.

‘ _I can’t read his mind and he has no scent,’_ Edward replied, frowning slightly. _‘I don’t think he’s human.’_

‘ _Why? Is it really that hard to think that a mere human could elude us?’_ Emmett knew it was a moot point to argue about this; even _he_ couldn’t deny that there was something underlying Harry’s skin that seemed to radiate. It left him cautious and perhaps a tiny bit worried.

‘ _We’ll talk with Carlisle about this,’_ Edward thought firmly. They had stopped mentally communicating when Edward rolled his eyes.

‘ _What is it?’_

‘ _Jasper,’_ Edward thought exasperatedly, _‘is thinking of ways to eliminate this new threat; ever the strategist.’_

‘ _Haha! Can’t blame him, ya know.’_

‘ _And Rosalie is yelling about worthless humans that should be left alone.’_ Edward rolled his eyes again and scowled.

Emmett looked at Rosalie who, though she appeared to be stoic, had her lips pulled in a tight and angry line. He knew she would chew him and Alice out for associating with the human and inwardly groaned.

“Oh, wow, look at the time,” Harry murmured. “It was nice meeting you all, but I have to go. Perhaps I’ll see you at school?”

Alice nodded her head happily. “Yes! We’ll definitely see you at school. Maybe you can even sit with us?” Her siblings looked at her with no small amount of surprise, hesitance, and a bit of anger.

Harry seemed to sense the now tense atmosphere. “To be honest, I like to eat alone,” he said, looking at her apologetically. “But maybe I’ll see you in class or something, yeah?”

Alice nodded her head and, though she was a little sad that he wouldn’t eat lunch with them, she understood that his instincts were probably yelling at him. Harry gave a little wave and soon left the isle. As soon as he had disappeared, Rosalie whirled towards Alice.

“I can’t believe you,” she hissed. “How the hell could you invite that…that… _human_ to eat lunch with us when we’re trying to hide what we are? Are you _insane_? Ugh, don’t even answer that. I forgot you were checked into the happy hotel!”

Alice gave her a hurt look; she had seen that Rosalie would be hostile at first, but she hadn’t seen her throwing _that_ of all things in her face. She sighed before walking away, shaking her head all the while.

Jasper frowned at Rosalie. “That was low,” he said angrily, immediately coming to the defense of his wife.

“She shouldn’t have been fraternizing with that creature! _You_ of all people should recognize a threat when you see one,” Rosalie spat, glaring furiously at the ex-soldier.

Emmett laughed nervously as the temperature around them dropped considerably. “Come on, honey, even you have to admit there was something off about that human, if he’s even that. You can’t tell me that there was nothing off about that boy,” he said quietly, attempting to not offend anyone while still telling his point of view.

Rosalie looked at Emmett betrayed as she clenched and unclenched her fists. “Our cover could be blown,” she said softly though her eyes flashed violently with her anger. “Everything could be lost and for what? That stupid boy? Is it even _worth_ it?”

Edward decided to speak up. “This isn’t the time nor the place to speak of such things,” he said, looking at his siblings. “Let’s get what we came here for and we’ll talk about this at home with Esme and Carlisle.”

Rosalie glared at them for a while longer before whirling around in a huff. Emmett knew as soon as she paid for what she needed, she’d disappear into the trees and then run home by herself, as she often did when she was upset at him. He sighed and shook his head before walking towards the register with Jasper and Edward stiffly trailing behind, frowning all the while.

There was going to be a long talk when they got home.

Unbeknownst to them, Harry had heard the entire conversation. He bit his lip slightly, guilt welling up in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t help but feel bad that they had gotten into a fight, ultimately, because two of the other vampires had made nice with him. Harry let out a startled yelp when his pocket began to vibrate. He looked puzzled for a moment before remembering that Acastus had insisted he get a Muggle cellular device. Buckling his seat belt, Harry hurriedly answered his cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Is that the car I hear?” Acastus said, a frown in his voice.

Harry laughed a little. “Yeah, I was out exploring.”

“You shouldn’t drive while talking on the phone,” Acastus replied, his tone admonishing. Harry rolled his eyes.

“ _You’re_ the one that called _me_ ; besides, I’m a good driver.”

“Whatever; that’s not what I called you for.”

“Oh? And what would be your reason for calling? Don’t tell me you need more money.”

“Harry,” Acastus gasped. “You wound me! I recently received my allowance for the month, thank you very much!”

Harry chuckled. “It’ll more-than-likely be gone within a week,” he teased, outright laughing at Acastus’ shriek of outrage.

“Anyways,” the aristocratic vampire drawled, his tone suggesting he was annoyed, “I called to tell you hi!”

Harry blinked as he stopped the car and stepped out before grabbing his bags and lugging them inside his house. “That’s all?” he asked, incredulously.

“Tch, no! As if I’d waste my time with such frivolous greetings. Especially when I can just say them to your face!”

Harry sighed, irritated, before hanging up the phone and walking to his living room. “What’re you doing here?” he demanded, cocking an eyebrow at Acastus who was lounging over one of the couches.

“I missed you,” Acastus said with a pout, standing up.

Harry rolled his eyes. “I haven’t even been gone for more than a day!”

Acastus sauntered up to him, wrapping his arms around Harry and burying his nose in Harry’s neck. He took a deep breath and sighed happily. “You of all people should know about our bond. The distance wears us both out and only increases the need for contact,” he purred, smiling widely when Harry shivered.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I wondered how long you’d last,” he murmured. “Help me put this stuff away.”

Acastus frowned slightly, as he searched through the bags. “Why do you buy these things?” he asked, gesturing at the canned food with disgust. “It tastes absolutely ridiculous!”

“Acastus, dear, are you _whining_?” Harry asked, smirking all the while.

“No,” Acastus denied. “I was merely stating my complaint in a perhaps less-than-acceptable tone of voice. But, as I was saying, I cannot see why you buy these things, let alone enjoy them! They taste absolutely horrid!”

“Let’s think about this clearly,” Harry said slowly as if talking to a small child. “I am attempting to pass myself off as an emancipated, human teenager living by myself. My parents are rich, which is why I have this lovely house. Now, wouldn’t it look suspicious if I had absolutely nothing to eat in my house?”

Acastus pouted again. “You’re so mean to me.”

Harry rolled his eyes and smiled. “Come on and help me,” he repeated.

“A slave, that’s what I am,” Acastus grumbled under his breath. “Never appreciated.”

Harry sighed before leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on Acastus’ cheek. “Happy?” he teased, grinning.

Acastus beamed at him. “Immensely!” he chirped. “Now, let’s get on to the reason of my visit.”

“Yes, please do. I was worried you’d never get to that.”

“Hermione is coming along further than anticipated,” Acastus said seriously.

Harry’s playful demeanor changed completely. “Is she okay?” he asked worriedly. “Does she need me there again?”

Acastus waved down his fears. “She’s fine, Harry. As I was saying, she’s coming along further than we thought. More than likely, I think she’ll burst in no more than a month. Because of that, I’ve decided to come and set up your Floo. I know you didn’t want it to be connected, but—”

“Don’t be stupid, Acastus,” he interrupted. “Of course, connect it. She’ll be alright then, yeah?”

Acastus rolled his eyes and grinned. “Such a cute little worry wart,” he cooed, pinching Harry’s cheek.

Harry slapped his hand away gently. “Get to work,” he said anxiously. “I’ll be upstairs. Come get me when you’ve finished.”

Without waiting for a reply, Harry headed up the stairs and into his bedroom before sitting down on his bed and getting lost in his memories. He remembered when he had first introduced Acastus to Ron and Hermione. He had been so nervous about the vampire meeting his two best mates, but in the end his worries were just silly. The three of them had hit it off and Ron and Hermione didn’t seem to care about Acastus’ vampire status. It shouldn’t have surprised him, really, what with them accepting Remus as a werewolf. Harry reached down and grabbed the photo album, flipping through it with a wide smile.

“Harry?”

Harry looked up and saw Acastus leaning against his door frame, grinning widely and looking completely sexy. “Finished already?”

“Don’t insult me by assuming I’d work slower than a snail at a human’s pace,” Acastus scoffed, buffing his nails on his shirt. He glanced at the book in Harry’s hands and beamed. “You like it?”

“I love it,” Harry said softly. “I miss them, but I needed this change. Besides, I have a feeling it’ll work out.”

“It will, Harry,” Acastus replied confidently. “Your gut has never let you down before; I doubt it’d start now.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The two stood in relative silence, enjoying each other’s company and unaware of the rather destructive argument taking place in the Cullen household.

A/N: Yeah, I know I took forever to update when I said I wouldn’t, but life got in the way. As the saying goes, shit happens. That, and I have a monster head cold right now. I hope the characters aren’t too OOC, if at all. I tried very hard not to make Alice seem like an all-knowing prophet like she’s presented in many stories and this caused several re-writings of this chapter. I’m pretty satisfied with it now, though. Sorry to disappoint some, but this **will not be completely DH-compliant**. I loathe and detest Harry/Ginny and any product that pairing will create.

See, I enjoyed reading both the Twilight and HP series, but the last books (of both of the series) kind of killed me. I won’t even get started on how bad I think _Breaking Dawn_ was because I’ll just make myself sick. I was unable to finish the book and I’m glad I didn’t; I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle it. As for _Deathly Hallows_ , it was pretty good. Lots of action and such. I still think it would’ve been loads better if Harry stayed dead in the ending. That, and I hate the names Harry chose for his children. Albus Severus? Give me a break. And don’t get me started on Renesmee. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. I definitely won’t take so long to update the story next time.

**There is a poll on my profile on FF.Net under the same name (minus the underscore) for Acastus' mate. Please be sure to vote (if you care XD). Also, I'm combining Twilight-style vampires with HP-theorized style vampires, if that makes any sense. So, please, I _know_ that vampires aren't supposed to have fangs, wings, or the ability to eat food according to Twilight-verse. But, as stated, I'm kind of creating my own branch here. Thanks.**


	3. III: Provocation

Chapter 3 – Provocation

_Esme looked at her children and frowned. Her hands moved up towards her hips and she glared at them, causing them to fidget like humans under her steely gaze. Beside her, Carlisle frowned as well and sighed tiredly._

“ _Now,” Esme stated calmly, “what started this little spat?”_

_The Cullen siblings were quiet, none of them wanting to really say anything. Esme tapped her foot, her look stating that she had all the time in the world. One of them would crack eventually—they always did._

“ _We met the newcomer today,” Edward said softly, his voice ringing throughout the quiet house. “He was…odd.”_

_Esme lifted an eyebrow. “How exactly was he odd? And what does this have to do with your recent argument?”_

“ _Well, that kid, Harry, was having trouble getting something from the top shelf so Emmett helped him out,” Edward explained. “And then Alice got to talking to him. He was really polite and he seemed nice enough. Before he left, Alice invited him to eat lunch with us at school.”_

_Carlisle and Esme’s eyes widened slightly in unison; it would’ve been comical, really, if the situation hadn’t been so serious. “Are you sure that’s wise?” Esme asked slowly, worry seeping into her voice. “What if something happens?”_

_Rosalie took her chance. “Exactly! If that stupid human had agreed to what Alice was offering, he could’ve discovered us! We could’ve been found out!” she hissed, glaring daggers at Alice._

_Alice glared back just as fiercely, surprising the others with the heat in her gaze. “If you_ must _know, Rosalie, I had a vision!” Alice barked, growling angrily._

“ _Your visions are subjective, in case you’ve forgotten,” Rosalie retorted. “What if that human changes his mind and decides that he wants to inform everybody that we’re vampires? Huh? What then?”_

“ _Out of all the possible visions I’d had, there was only one terrible one. Just one,” Alice said quietly, sighing tiredly. “And it wasn’t that he was going to tell our secret; it was because he was going to leave Forks and us behind.”_

_Rosalie scoffed. “One less human to worry about wouldn’t devastate us.”_

_Alice stared at her coldly. “It would when he completes our family.”_

_One of the visions she’d had about the newcomer came rushing forth, unbidden, and Edward was assaulted by the images. After a few moments, which he had spent lightly gasping at certain points with his mouth open and his eyes wide, Edward shared a sort of knowing look with Alice. “Wow,” he murmured gently. “Just…wow…”_

“ _What is it?” Esme asked anxiously, worrying her bottom lip. “Will you be alright at school?”_

_Alice smiled at her mother. “Yes,” she said firmly. “There is nothing wrong with Harry. We can trust him.”_

“ _No, we can’t!” Rosalie spat angrily and fiercely. “He’s a human! You know what their species is like!”_

“ _Now, Rosalie, just because a couple of humans go bad doesn’t mean that they all are the same way,” Carlisle admonished, speaking up for the first time. “There is inherit goodness in everybody.”_

_Rosalie clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes. She knew Carlisle, who was the most compassionate man—human or vampire—on the planet, and that he would not side with her on this argument. A hesitant look from Emmett told her that more-than-likely he wouldn’t side with her either. Hurt, betrayal, and anger started to fester within her but she shoved those emotions down, not looking in Jasper’s eye when he sent her a sympathizing look._

“ _What if he is a threat?” Jasper asked softly, gathering the attention of his family. “I trust your judgment, Alice. If all of the possible visions you’ve had thus far all end with relatively happy results that are good for our family, then I believe you._ _ **But**_ _, what if he_ _ **is**_ _a threat? Are we to dispose of him? By the time we can safely assume if he does or doesn’t pose a danger to us, he’ll more-than-likely already be well known in town. If he were to suddenly disappear or show up dead, the police will get suspicious. We’d have to move again.”_

_Alice looked at her husband and grinned. “That won’t happen,” she said confidently. “But if it did, IF, then the rest of you can decide our course of action. Trust me, though, this will be good for us.”_

_Silence reigned in the Cullen household before Rosalie shifted and broke it._

“ _If you’re wrong,” she said quietly, “I will_ _ **never**_ _forgive you. Ever.”_

“ _I won’t be,” Alice replied softly, staring into Rosalie’s eyes._

“ _Know this,” the blonde hissed. “I do not support or condone this. You want to trust this pathetic creature with our secret, go ahead. When it backfires, and believe me it will, I’ll be the first to point it out.”_

_Emmett placed a hand on Rosalie’s shoulder, but she shook him off. He looked at her slightly hurt, but sighed and crossed his arms. “I guess I’m not welcome into my own room tonight, huh?” he mused, slightly bitter._

_Rosalie gave him a look. “Have the damn room,” she said. “I’m checking into the motel. I don’t think I can stand to be around any of you tonight.”_

_Alice sighed as Rosalie disappeared, leaving the rest of her family partially stunned. She knew Rosalie tended to overreact, but this was slightly ridiculous. “She’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon, Emmett,” Alice told her brother, patting his arm gently. He stared at her hand before his gaze went up to her face._

“ _I believe you,” he said softly. “But, you know how Rose is. Especially after what happened last time.”_

_Alice nodded her head in understanding. “I know, Emmett. Rosalie may be opposed to our making nice with Harry now, but it’s really for the best. We’ll be so much happier; so complete.”_

_Carlisle smiled at her conviction. “If that’s the case, then everything will work out.”_

Edward kept pondering the memory in his head over and over. Though Rosalie did return to the house in the afternoon, things had been tense. It felt like they were treading on eggshells around her; they didn’t mention the ‘h’ word, seemingly forgot about the fight yesterday, and mostly kept out of her way. Despite things getting close to normalcy, there was undeniable tension and awkwardness between Alice and Rosalie.

It had hurt Alice deeply when Rosalie had thrown her past life into her face without a care. Though Rosalie regretted doing so, according to Jasper, she didn’t and wouldn’t apologize. To be honest, nobody had expected her to. She was much too prideful to admit that she was wrong and instead had decided to avoid Alice altogether. Apparently Alice had saw this coming and, instead of being offended, she also placed her distance between herself and Rosalie.

Their family was going through an awkward phase and Edward didn’t like it.

This was the reason he was in a tree, perched just outside Harry Potter’s home. It hadn’t been difficult to find out where he lived; after all, the teen was new to the town and thus the source of gossip. It was too easy, really; all Edward had to do was make small talk with a stammering clerk at the grocery store and she practically gave him the latest scoop that was Harry Potter.

From what the rumor mill could gather, he lived alone, was sixteen years old, emancipated, was an orphan, and was also going to be attending Forks High School as a junior. It looked as if Harry Potter would be the source of gossip for weeks, if not months. Edward fought the insanely human urge to gag as women all over the town murmured about the huskiness of Harry’s voice, the sexy was his hair lazed about, and the hot car that matched him well enough. It also made him disgusted to know that at least half of the women that talked about him were more concerned with dating the newcomer just to get their grubby hands on the money he obviously had, if the fanciness of the car was anything to go by.

“Harry, what the hell are you doing?” came an indignant voice. Edward cocked an eyebrow at the blond that came outside of Harry’s house. A small gust of wind gently blew the blond’s scent over him and wafted into his nose. Edward immediately froze.

‘ _Another vampire?’_ If Edward had blood, he knew it’d run cold, and he felt as if Emmett slammed him into a tree again. Harry gave the vampire an amused look, obviously not aware of the danger he was in. The blond vampire took a delicate sniff in the air before turning to his direction and smirking at him.

“Gardening, Acastus. Surely you heard of it?” Harry teased, offering the blond a wide grin.

“Why would you want to do that?” Acastus replied, sniffing disdainfully. Edward tensed as the vampire hovered over a humming Harry.

“Because,” Harry said calmly, “I want the front of my house to look pretty. And I _like_ gardening.”

Acastus wrapped his arms around Harry and snuggled into his back. He pressed a small kiss at Harry’s ear, grinning when Edward let out a low growl. “Why don’t you leave this alone and come inside? We need some more bonding time,” he murmured sultrily in Harry’s ear. Edward didn’t need Jasper’s power of empathy to know that the vampire, Acastus, was positively delighting in Harry’s shiver. He didn’t know why, but Edward felt a surge of protectiveness, anger, and something he couldn’t really identify at the moment.

“Again? But we already had our bonding time,” Harry replied, looking at Acastus bemusedly.

“I want more,” Acastus purred, bending down to place tiny kisses along Harry’s neck and jawline. He looked up and smirked at Edward, his eyes dancing and taunting the now glaring veggie vampire. Acastus’ body shook with silent laughter as his teeth gently grazed the side of Harry’s throat. Unconsciously and unintentionally, Edward accidentally snapped the branch he’d been seated upon like one would a pencil during a bout of anger. Quickly, he ran away from Harry Potter’s house and towards his own. He felt confused and angry and so many other emotions at once that he was losing control. His eyes were turning black and he felt the venom fill his mouth.

He felt bad for leaving Harry with that vampire, but somehow he knew the blond wouldn’t hurt the teen. No, he could tell by his actions that Acastus had only toyed with him. Besides, if he and Harry had already bedded, which they had due to the conversation he’d overheard, then the teen was safer for a while longer. Edward clenched his fists. That blond vampire might have caught him off guard this time, but he wouldn’t the next time they’d meet. He’d make sure of it.

As soon as Edward had left, Acastus burst out laughing. Harry gave him a not-so-gentle shove, causing him to fly back a couple feet. The emerald-eyed teen shook his head and gave him an admonishing look. Acastus laughed only harder, practically rolling around on Harry’s front lawn.

“That was so much fun!” the blond vampire squealed, clapping his hands joyously. “I wonder when he’ll be back.”

“You’re horrible,” Harry stated, rolling his eyes. “Why’d you have to do that?”

“Because it’s fun,” Acastus exclaimed, grinning. “Why’d you go along with it?”

“You _know_ they can’t tell what I am. I don’t want them to know; it’s none of their business or anybody else’s, for that matter. I’m supposed to be a human, remember? Normal human teens believe vampires to be myths,” Harry exclaimed, his hands on his hips.

Acastus giggled happily. “Oh, I haven’t had that much fun in a long while! Well, I know a way I can have a lot more fun,” he murmured, batting his eyes and forming his features into a ‘come hither’ look. Harry rolled his eyes and stood, brushing his knees and taking off his gardening gloves.

“You’re impossible,” Harry replied, walking back inside the house. “Did you even think about how your actions would affect me and my stay here?”

Acastus cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Harry said, clearly exasperated, “that what if Cullen decides to keep a close watch on me because he sensed a vampire in my home? How will I be able to practice magic or even get something to eat?”

Acastus pouted. “Eat your disgusting human food around him,” he mumbled.

Harry’s hands flew up in the air. “I need blood just as much as the next vampire, ya know!”

“Now you’re being dramatic, Harry, dear,” Acastus replied. “You know damn well just how proficient you are in magic and that you can easily disguise the scent and appearance of blood in less than half a minute.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “That’s not the point!”

“And what is the point, dearest?”

“The point,” Harry grit out, “is that you, once again, acted without thinking.”

Acastus sighed and stood up, walking over to Harry and engulfing him in a hug. “I’m sorry,” he breathed into the others’ neck. “But, you have to admit, it was fun.”

Harry rolled his eyes and whacked Acastus in the head with the strength that would’ve left most humans with a concussion. “You have a one-track mind,” Harry noted before spinning on his heel and walking towards the house.

“If I agree with you, will you go out with me?” Acastus asked sweetly.

Harry snorted. “Nope,” he said happily, smiling when Acastus clutched his heart in mock-pain. “C’mon. Best to fire call Ron and Hermione now before they get worried.”

Acastus nodded his head thoughtfully, knowing how much of a worry wart Hermione could be. He remembered when the war had still been going on and he, Ron, and Harry were fighting on the front lines. Hermione, who had decided to become a medi-witch in order to help people that suffered through the war, constantly worried and fussed over them every time they came home with new scrapes, bumps, and bruises. She didn’t try to convince them to stop fighting, knowing that her words would fall on deaf ears. Each of them felt they had a sense of duty in the war; Harry because he was the Savior of the Wizarding World, Ron because he had to fight for what he believed in, and Acastus because he knew Voldemort wasn’t just a problem for wizards. Though the dark wizard managed to ally himself with most vampires, Acastus and several others knew it was a matter of time before Voldemort became even more power hungry and attempted to exert his dominance over their species as well.

Hermione, however, was not a fighter. If she had been in the war, she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself knowing of how many lives she had taken. Of course, she knew a good portion of the wizards joined Voldemort because they were thirsty for his power and had a strong desire to hurt someone of lesser blood than them, but there were wizards that were forced to join the dark side with absolutely no choice. There wasn’t a way to know which was which and, knowing that she might’ve killed someone that just wanted to protect their family, Hermione wouldn’t have been able to continue living.

Still, Hermione also had a sense of duty. As soon as she had accepted her magical heritage at age eleven and began her schooling at Hogwarts, the Wizarding World became as much a part of her as the Muggle one. Voldemort was a threat to both of her worlds and, though she couldn’t and didn’t fight the war, she was able to help those that bravely offered their services to the cause. Her profession as a healer, she always argued, was more important and self-fulfilling than sacrificing one’s life for a cause.

Acastus knelt beside Harry as the emerald-eyed teen stuck his head in the fire before doing the same. “I was wondering when you’d call,” Hermione exclaimed excitedly as she glanced at their heads in the fireplace. “You had me worried!”

Harry and Acastus offered her identical grins before saying in unison, “Sorry about that.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “How’s everything so far, Harry?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Idiot here exposed himself to a bunch of vampires,” he told the medi-witch, shaking his head.

Hermione cocked an eyebrow. “Oh? And how exactly did he do that?”

Acastus pouted. “It was fun,” he whined. “Having fun isn’t illegal!”

“There’s a group of vampires here in Forks,” Harry explained as if Acastus hadn’t said a word at all. “They seemed rather nice, but, of course, were wary of the new human in town. Understandable, if they wish to keep their secret. I don’t think they know I’m a wizard, which is good considering the amount of prejudice between the races. But, anyways, Acastus basically provoked one of the vampires.”

Hermione looked torn between amusement and worry. “What’d he do?”

“You know how I can sense beings with my magic?” At Hermione’s nod, he continued, “Well, Edward was apparently watching me from a tree, though I’ve not the foggiest idea why. Acastus starts talking to me and everything that’s coming out of his mouth has a double meaning. I’m guessing he threatened Cullen because he was another vampire and preying on a seemingly vulnerable human.”

“Oh, Acastus,” Hermione murmured, shaking her head. “Shame on you.”

“It was fun!” the vampire repeated, crossing his arms over his chest.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Other than that, everything’s fine? You start school on Monday, don’t you? Oh, Harry, I’m so proud you’ve decided to further your education. You’ll not only be a fully qualified wizard, but you’ll also have a high school education. That’s a very strong glamour you have on there; you look exactly like you did ten years ago. I’m wondering, though, how lo—”

“Let the man breathe, Hermione,” Ron said as he entered the living room and took a seat beside Hermione. “He’s twenty-six years old, not sixteen.”

“No, but he’s trying to pass off as a sixteen-year-old,” Hermione replied smartly, frowning at her husband of nine years.

“Nice clothes, Ron,” Harry commented, smirking at the sopping wet redhead.

Ron rolled his eyes at his best mate of fifteen years. “The twins had a bit too much fun,” he explained. Harry and Acastus nodded in understanding.

“I’ll fire call you tomorrow,” Harry said as he noticed the yawn Hermione was trying to hide. “I keep forgetting how backwards the time is.”

Hermione gave him a tired smile. “Alright,” she said as she stood up, revealing her bulging stomach. Weasleys certainly were very fertile, Harry absent-mindedly thought to himself as he saw Ron looking at it with pride.

They ended the fire call with Acastus pouting as he had been mostly ignored throughout the entire conversation and with Harry smiling fondly. “You should tell them,” Acastus murmured.

Harry immediately shook his head in the negative. “They wouldn’t accept me,” he said a bit sadly.

Acastus whacked him over the head. “They know I’m a vampire and they accept me,” he pointed out. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you being a vampire as well.”

“It’s different,” Harry said sullenly. “They’re friends with Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini, former Slytherins and they’ve no problem with it now that prejudices are in the past. However, if they knew I was supposed to be sorted into Slytherin, it would change. It would be different; it almost always is where I’m concerned.”

Acastus sighed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to convince Harry otherwise. “I should sleep with you tonight,” he said slyly. “You don’t know if that other vampire will be back and you’re supposed to be a defenseless human. Don’t worry, Harry love, I’ll protect you.”

Harry gave a small laugh and kissed him on the cheek. “You stay in the guest room,” he said softly. “And you’re only staying for one night.”

Acastus smiled widely. “I’m sure I can change your mind by the end of tonight,” he said sultrily.

Harry laughed. “Sure you will,” he muttered sarcastically as he began to walk up the stairs.

“Eh?” Acastus frowned. “What’d you mean by that?”

Harry made no move to answer, instead continuing up the stairs at a leisurely pace. Acastus pouted and followed, admiring the nice view of Harry’s arse in tight jeans.

A/N: On a roll here; updating one story after another within a few days. Yay me. Not sure if it’ll happen again, but once is an accomplishment in itself. To Kimi1313, I do have an explanation in mind as to why the vampires are different. So…yeah…

Before anyone asks me, no, Hermione and Ron do not know that he’s a vampire. It’ll be explained in future chapters how he managed to hide it. Reviews would be greatly appreciated and thanks to all that have expressed interest in this story. (Which is a lot of people, obviously, since this story is on the alerts list of five hundred twenty-five users on this site.)

**I’ve created a banner for this story, which is posted on my deviantART. I’ll add the link to my profile when I’m not lazy, but to those that don’t want to wait, my deviantART penname is the same as this one. It’d be brambleiceweb (.) deviantART (.) com.**


	4. IV: High School Annoyances

Chapter 4 – High School Annoyances

Monday came far too soon for Harry’s liking. The last time he had stepped foot inside of a school was graduation day at Hogwarts, which had been postponed due to the war. He wasn’t exactly nervous about going to school again, but he’d be lying if he said he was completely comfortable with the idea. His formal Muggle education stopped at the age of eleven when he began his Wizarding one and, though he continued to self-teach himself various Muggle subjects should he ever need to know them, Harry was a tad bit worried. He had no idea what else had been incorporated into Muggle education during the time he had stopped worrying about academics after graduation until now.

With a sigh, Harry got off of his bed and went to take a shower. It was a human habit, really, and he wasn’t quite ready to give it up. Acastus saw fit to make insanely lewd comments and attempt to catch a view of Harry in the shower. He had drooled at mental images his brain drew up and informed his Childe, much to the mortification of Harry, and sometimes even dared to try and sneak in with him. This hadn’t worked out very well for him, however, considering the fact that Harry’s vampire senses let him know whenever the blond vampire was in the vicinity and the fact that Harry always placed hexes and jinxes around his bathroom.

After his shower, Harry casually dressed himself. It was the first time since yesterday that he had been completely relaxed in his own home. Just like he had figured, Edward Cullen became somewhat of an annoyance. He could sense the American vampire outside his house, watching his every move and looking for signs of Acastus. It agitated him to no end and forced him to act even more human than would’ve been necessary. Edward Cullen had also creeped him out; honestly, when you have all the time in the world at night to do whatever you wanted, who would choose to watch humans sleeping?

Harry frowned slightly, remembering how boring it had been to pretend to sleep for eight full hours. He grabbed the car keys from the table by the door and left the house. It didn’t take long for him to drive from his house to his new school and he was happy that there were only a few people there. His new and shiny car, without a doubt, would draw a lot of attention, as if being the new student from Britain wasn’t enough. Even though the Muggles here had no idea that he was a huge celebrity in his world, he knew that the stares he’d receive would be no better. It seemed like no matter where he went, eyes would follow him and stare, gawk, watch...

Harry lightly shuddered before shaking his head. He walked into the building, already feeling awkward as the few people that were on school grounds pointed and whispered about him. Taking long, swift steps, Harry reached the office in no time. He took the time to smile kindly at the lady behind the desk and then waited for her to finish shifting through her papers.

“May I help you?” she asked with a smile of her own.

“Yes, I believe you can,” Harry replied, feeling slightly worried when her smile widened. “I’m Harry P—”

“Ah!” she exclaimed, her eyes shining suddenly. “Harry Potter, the new transfer student from Britain; lovely accent you have. If you’ll wait a moment, I’ll get your papers ready.”

“Thank you,” Harry murmured, eyeing her somewhat warily. He didn’t really like the look she gave him or the way she was analyzing him.

“Here you are,” she said as she handed him his schedule and a map. “Would you like to take a tour of the school first or do you think you can manage?”

Harry pondered this momentarily. “Well, I suppose a tour might actually be a good idea,” he mused out loud.

“Great!” the woman exclaimed. “I think my daughter would be an excellent tour guide. She’s quite the looker, I’ll tell you, and knows her way around the school quite well.”

Harry internally groaned. Was this an attempt for him to ‘get to know’ and ‘become enamored’ with her daughter? He was starting to feel uncomfortable as his mind jumped to conclusions and became indecisive. On one hand, he wanted to flat out refuse to take the tour and stomp out of the room. On the other hand, he wanted to accept the offer and not appear to be the rude, new foreigner on the first day of school. Opening his mouth, he soon found out that he didn’t really have to make the decision.

“Hello, Mrs. Weber. How are you today?” Alice Cullen asked as she almost magically appeared by Harry’s side.

“Oh!” the woman said, startled. “I’m quite well, Alice. I’ll help you in a moment; let me just attend to this transfer student.”

“Actually,” Alice interrupted, “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation and decided to offer my services. I mean, Harry and I have already met and, well, I’m here right now. It wouldn’t hurt for me to show him around.”

“I see,” Mrs. Weber said, looking somewhat disappointed. “Well, if it’s fine with Harry.”

“That would be great,” Harry decided, feeling unbelievably relieved. “Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Weber.”

“No problem.”

Harry couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty at how put out Mrs. Weber seemed. “Thank you,” he told Alice as soon as they exited the front office. “It was so awkward in there.”

“I could tell,” Alice teased, smiling at the wizard. “You don’t do so good with saying ‘no’, do you?”

Harry sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “It’s just, I didn’t know what to do. I mean, she looked excited to introduce me to her daughter and I’ve no problem with making new friends, but at the same time it seemed as if, I dunno, she was a vampire just waiting to sink her fangs into me.”

Alice nearly snorted at Harry’s choice of words. “Now you’re being silly,” she admonished, smiling as she led Harry towards her stiff siblings.

Harry let out a sigh. “Yeah, you’re right,” he murmured. “Vampires don’t exist; I’m just being paranoid.” He noted, with a large amount of satisfaction, that Edward Cullen seemed to be uncomfortable and awkward. He didn’t notice Jasper’s confused expression.

‘ _Good,’_ he thought to himself. _‘Now he knows how it feels.’_

Alice chuckled. “So, are you ready for that tour?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Harry said, mock glaring at Alice as she laughed at him. “Oh, hush. I have every right to be nervous! How on earth am I going to get through a class of American history? I barely know British history!”

Emmett let out a rather loud laugh and was slightly surprised when Harry didn’t jump like most humans did. He was going to say something when he noticed Rosalie’s glare and promptly kept his mouth shut. Edward witnessed the scene and rolled his eyes before paying attention to Alice and Harry’s interaction. The “human” made him feel somewhat uneasy; he had no scent, his mind was somehow blocked, and his entwined destiny with the Cullens had won him Alice’s loyalty. Decades after making sure their family kept to themselves in voluntary solitude practically disappeared in the span of a few hours all because of Harry freaking Potter and Edward, though he trusted Alice’s judgment, wasn’t comfortable with this turn of events. His mind wandered back to the vision he had seen inside of Alice’s mind; it seemed more like a dream or a fantasy than a possible future outcome and he thought that was perhaps the reason why he was so skeptical.

“—right, Edward?”

Edward snapped back to reality as his family looked at him expectedly; he was slightly embarrassed to discover that he had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he only caught the last part of Alice’s sentence. Jasper and Emmett grinned at him, their eyes glinting dangerously. “Um,” Edward practically stammered, “it sounds wonderful, Alice.”

That, apparently, had been the wrong thing to say. Alice smirked wickedly before turning to Harry. “You see, Harry, even Edward thinks dressing you up in skin-tight leather would be hot!”

If Edward had blood, it all would’ve rushed to his face by now. Emmett let out booming laughter and Jasper chuckled. “Well, I, uh,” Edward murmured, attempting to think of a comeback.

Alice wagged her finger in his face. “That’s what you get for not paying attention,” she said with a giggle.

“Did you really ask that?” Edward questioned after a few moments of silence.

“No, she didn’t,” Harry answered. “She had said that we have last period Biology together.”

“Oh.”

Emmett clasped him on the back. _‘Nice going, bro,’_ he thought with mental laughter.

Edward sent him a scowl and muttered under his breath, “Oh, shut up.”

‘ _She had you wrapped up!’_ Emmett continued to tease.

“Are you choking right now, Em?”

Emmett was confused. _‘Huh? No, why?’_

“Well, I figured the leash your wife has on you is just so short that it would be causing you some relative discomfort right about now,” Edward replied lowly.

That promptly shut Emmett up and Jasper smirked at the brawny vampire. “So, Harry, why did you move here of all places in America?” the empath asked, attempting to converse with Harry and earning a smoldering, thankful look from Alice.

“Well,” Harry said slowly, “I didn’t want to live in Britain anymore due to personal reasons so I decided to move. I wasn’t completely ready to give up the atmosphere of Britain, because though I’ve no desire to live there anymore that didn’t mean I didn’t like it, and so I searched for places with the same climate as it.”

Alice nodded in understanding before glancing at her watch. “It’s almost time to start class,” she said almost mournfully before giving Harry a hug. “I’ll see you in English, Harry! Bye!”

“See you later, Alice,” Harry replied, returning the hug without thinking. He mentally cursed himself, realizing he was supposed to be a human and, therefore, not exactly able to hug a vampire with no problem, and pretended to give a little shiver. “Do you want my sweater, Alice? You seem a little cold.”

Alice’s eyes twinkled knowingly before she shook her head in the negative. “No, I think I’ll steal Jasper’s. It smells so good!”

Harry gave a mock-pout. “Are you trying to tell me that mine will smell bad?”

Alice shrugged her shoulders. “Not really. Hey, Edward, do you wanna check?”

Edward, who had been eyeing Harry suspiciously, jerked his head toward her and gave a little glare. “You’re a common genius, Alice,” he said dryly.

“I do try,” Alice retorted, giggling. The warning bell erupted into shrill notes, causing everybody near it to cringe and shrink back. The Cullens winced as their delicate hearing started to ring and Harry put his hands over his ears, glaring at the offending metal contraption.

“What the hell? Does the school want their students to go deaf? If there’s a problem with my ears, I’ll be forwarding them the bill!” Harry exclaimed, rubbing his ears.

Edward rolled his eyes. “Oh, suck it up,” he blurted out before he could censor himself.

Harry’s eyes flashed in semi-amusement and annoyance before he grinned. “So, the dull one can perform a more coherent sentence than ‘well…I…uh’!”

Edward’s jaw twitched before he forced his lips to form a strained smile. “Dull?” he inquired, ignoring the not-quite-muffled snickers and chuckles from his siblings.

“Oh dear, I had no idea your brother was more of a parrot than a human, Alice,” Harry chirped, happy to put Edward on the spot.

Edward fixed a glare on Harry. “Parrot?” he grit out.

Harry shook his head in mock sympathy. “I am so sorry about that, Alice. Good luck with him.” Harry then turned to Edward. “I’d love to stay and have you repeat every word I say, but I have class to attend to. Toodles!”

As soon as Harry was gone, Edward whirled on Alice. “Did you know he was going to do that?” he demanded.

“Maybe,” Alice admitted, twirling her hair and giggling. “Oh, wait; I’m seeing something right now!”

“What? What is it?” Edward questioned.

Alice smirked. “You’re going to be late if you don’t leave right now.”

Edward scowled before walking off, shaking his head all the while. He made it to his classroom with mere seconds to spare, earning a sharp look from his Government teacher Mr. Jefferson. A sheepish look drifted across his face before he made his way to his seat. It wasn’t until he was seated and opening his notebook did he notice the seat in front of him, that was normally empty, was currently occupied. His nostrils flared in annoyance when he realized it was Harry freaking Potter.

“Why are you here?” he hissed lowly, trying not to draw attention to himself.

Harry dropped his pen and leaned down to pick it up, hissing in reply, “If you had been paying attention when Alice was speaking, you’d know I have this class with you as well!”

Edward frowned and breathed deeply in an attempt to regain some of his lost composure. “Tch, great,” he mumbled to himself. “Just what I need.”

Harry rolled his eyes before softly muttering, “Suck it up,” in a mocking manner.

“Now who is the parrot?” Edward retorted under his breath, shocked at himself for even continuing to banter with Harry. It was weird for him to act like a regular teenager when he was over one hundred years old.

“Edward, since you and Harry are already on friendly terms, judging by the amount of talking you both are doing, you will tutor him on our government. Yes?” Mr. Jefferson told him amiably, smiling.

Edward’s eyebrow twitched, though the movement was so slight that it was invisible to the human eye. “Yes, sir,” he replied, annoyed that he had allowed stupid Harry Potter to get under his skin and was now stuck in this predicament.

“Good. Now, class, today…”

Edward tuned out the entire lecture, already familiar with the content. Instead, he found it more interesting to attempt to burn holes into Harry’s head. Ever since that stupid non-human, whatever-he-was thing, came to Forks, Edward and his family had been thrown in a loop. Rosalie and Alice had a falling out, Emmett was somewhat subdued for fear of remaining celibate for the rest of his days, and Edward was being made a fool of. It was simply infuriating! If Harry Potter had never shown up, life would’ve continued normally and the Cullens could’ve finished living in Forks for however long they could without too much difficulty.

When he still couldn’t see the whiteboard through Harry’s head, Edward decided to glare at the clock that was ticking too damn slow. His fingers lightly tapped in rhythm with the second hand and it wasn’t long until he was bored with that as well. Agitation built within him before he took a deep breath and calmly remembered the vision Alice had let him see. Edward couldn’t quite understand how somebody as annoying as Harry Potter could cause such happiness in his family. Not to mention, the vision was so far in the future that Edward didn’t know what decisions would change it or cause it. He shook his head and sighed. Who knew how that vision would happen. In his opinion, it was still too ethereal to be a possibility…

_Rosalie smiled widely, her eyes sparkling as she noticed the little girl running towards her. Without another thought, her arms outstretched and she caught the girl within them, laughing and twirling her around. The little girl laughed as well and wrapped her arms around Rosalie’s chest._

“ _I like it when you do that, mom,” she said with childish innocence._

“ _I bet you do,” Rosalie replied, smiling at the girl. “I think it’s better when dad does it to both of us, don’t you agree?”_

_The girl nodded her head. “Dad! Come swing us around,” she demanded, obtaining an air of superiority._

_Emmett rolled his eyes. “I’m just a slave to you women!” he complained as he obediently picked them both up and swung them around._

_The little girl squealed happily. “That’s right!” she replied arrogantly. “Because men are here to serve all women!”_

_Rosalie smirked and patted her on the head. “That’s my little Samantha,” she murmured proudly._

“ _Lunch time!”_

_The three vampires turned to see Esme and the rest of the Cullens around the picnic table. “Good,” Emmett boomed. “I’m starving!”_

“ _You always are,” Edward commented, earning a punch on the arm that knocked him to the ground._

“ _Wait, not around my cake! I spent a lot of time on this!” Harry exclaimed, appearing from out of nowhere._

_Rosalie glanced at the cake approvingly. “Good job,” she murmured, soaking in its appearance and smell._

_Harry beamed. “I know,” he replied gleefully. “It would be bigger if somebody didn’t pick at the batter!” He glared at the culprit.  
_

_Edward shrugged his shoulders innocently. “Not me,” he declared. “It was Jasper!”_

_A bonk on his head had him turning around. “Trying to pick on me while I’m not here?” Jasper teased, mock glaring at his brother. Small arms wound around his torso and Edward made a face as Alice and Jasper shared a loving kiss._

“ _Come on,” Carlisle said, gesturing to the seats. “Sit. Let’s eat.”_

“ _Wait!” Esme cried. “A toast, first!”_

_The adults lifted their wine glasses and Samantha raised her cup of juice. “To Harry,” Alice said happily. “Without him, none of this would be possible right now.”_

“ _To Harry,” everyone else murmured._

_Harry rolled his eyes. “I think everyone should receive a toast,” he said, trying to take the attention off of him. “If you all hadn’t been so open-minded,” he nudged Rosalie with a smirk at which she kindly kicked him in the shin in reply, “then it wouldn’t have made a difference whether or not I was here to help you all.”_

_Carlisle smiled. “Okay; to everyone!”_

_They drank on it and Harry and Edward shared a smoldering glance. Their fingers entwined and Edward lovingly caressed Harry’s hand with his thumb. The day finished with the sound of their laughter and the joy of all of their dreams fulfilled._

Edward came out of his reverie and shook his head, scowling. The vision made absolutely no sense. For one, how did Rosalie and Emmett have a little girl? Adoption was possible, but then why did the girl resemble them so much? And what was the deal with them eating food? They were vampires, for heaven’s sake! Human food isn’t appealing; why would they eat it then? And then there was the obviously different relationship he had in the vision with Harry. What was _that_ about? His gaze returned to Harry who was studiously scribbling notes into his notebook. Edward let out a soft snort. As if _that_ would ever happen.

A/N: Yes, it’s late, but my computer went bleh. Hope everyone likes this chapter and leaves a review. I debated with myself for a small period of time whether or not I should show Alice’s vision so early, but I decided to allow a little foreshadowing come into the story. Also, I’ve received too many reviews with the same question: **What is Acastus and Harry’s relationship?** Instead of tiring myself and answering to every single question, I’ll post the answer here. **They are only friends.** Though they flirt a lot and imply a lot of things in a sexual manner that is all they are and all they’ll ever be. No, Harry has not lost his virginity to Acastus. Edward is the only one that will have that privilege.

Hope that clears things up. Please leave a review letting me know what you think of this and thanks for all the votes on the poll!

BTW: Deviant art deleted my banner, so I’ll post a link to my photobucket later.


	5. V: Suspicions and Quarrels

Chapter Five – Suspicions and Quarrels

“Harry! Over here!” Alice called out, gesturing wildly for Harry to sit across from her. She smirked at his relieved face and giggled when he plopped down next to her. “How’s your day so far?”

Harry gave her a look. “I’m beginning to think I should just go back to Britain. I had no idea my patience would wear this thin in America.”

“That bad, huh?” Emmett teased, smirking when Harry glared at him.

“Did Jessica still bother you after English? I’m so sorry you had to deal with her,” Alice said, empathetic.

“Yes. The female population is too horny,” Harry said thoughtfully as he took a bite out of his bread. He made a face and spit it out in his napkin. “Good lord, no wonder you aren’t eating! This crap tastes ridiculous!”

Emmett chuckled nervously. “Yeah, it’s horrible,” he murmured. “Hey, what do you mean?”

“Well, brawny, I took a bite out of my bread and, when it tasted displeasing to me, I spit it out and decided to call it horr—”

“Ha, hilarious,” the tall vampire said dryly. “I meant about the female population.”

Harry snorted and looked at Alice. “Can I borrow this?” he asked, gesturing to the orange on her tray.

Alice shrugged her shoulders. “Go ahead,” she replied brightly, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

Harry suddenly got a Luna Lovegood-vibe coming from her as he took her orange as well as the one on his plate.

“What’s an orange got to do with this?” Emmett asked, clearly confused.

Harry threw him an annoyed look. “Will ya wait a damn minute? I’m preparing to act out the latest trauma I’ve experienced and show you what the hell it has to do with this!”

Emmett let out a small huff. “Go on,” he said, gesturing impatiently. Harry smiled dryly before turning around. When he faced the Cullens again, he had the two oranges located on his chest. Emmett’s eyes bugged at Harry’s makeshift breasts. “The hell?”

Harry batted his eyes at Alice and spoke in a voice that was several octaves higher than normal. “Wow, your accent is _so_ cute! Are you from, like, Britain or something?”

Jasper chuckled, knowing his wife’s virtue was safe as the only thing he could detect from Harry was annoyance and disgust. Edward blinked and tilted his head, his brow furrowed as he tried to process what he was seeing. He was caught between feeling severely amused or just plain disturbed.

“Do you, like, wanna hang out sometime?” Harry asked Alice, who couldn’t stop laughing, and pressed his orange-breasts against her arm. “We could totally, like, have some fun!”

“Hiya Harry!”

Harry froze as he turned around to face the very person he was making fun of. “Hello, Jessica,” he said, managing to keep a straight face as her eyes bugged out of her head when she noticed the two bumps in front of his chest.

“W-what are you doing?” Jessica stuttered, horrified.

“Well,” Harry said, grinning slightly, “it’s actually a funny story.”

Rosalie smirked at Harry’s confusion as to what he should say and sneered, “He’s asking our opinion of how he would look with a boob job. Doesn’t he look simply stunning?” Sarcasm and annoyance dripped off of her words. Harry’s eyes narrowed in thought; he knew Rosalie didn’t like him and it seemed like it was currently the time to annoy her.

“What?!” Jessica cried.

“It’s true, hun,” Harry said dramatically. “You see, I asked their opinions because I knew they’d be completely honest with me, but, I think Rosalie is hurt because my fake boobs are bigger than her real ones could ever possibly be.”

Rosalie looked stunned and her jaw dropped in disbelief while Harry smiled satisfactorily.

“Was there anything you wanted, Jessica?” Harry asked her, taking the oranges out of his shirt.

“I was just wondering if you had wanted to come with me and my friends to the beach down in La Push,” she said, managing to smile and regain some composure. “And we can get to know each other a little better.”

Harry twitched. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

Jessica frowned. “Why not?” she asked, nearly whining as her lips formed into a pout.

“I’m new to this country,” he reminded her. “I don’t want to go exploring just yet. Besides, I’ll probably have a ton of homework. Sorry.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, you won’t possibly have that much work to do! Besides, you’re already super smart; you answered all of those problems in Trigonometry so fast, I’m sure you can do your homework in, like, fifteen minutes.”

Harry’s nostrils flared. “Okay, I tried to be nice,” he murmured before looking Jessica in the eye. “I don’t like you. I don’t want to hang out with you or your friends. I don’t even want to be in your company for fear of my IQ points severely dropping. Now, please, let me spend the rest of my lunch period without having to worry on whether or not you’ll try to jump me!”

He knew it was cruel to break the news to her like that, but enough was enough. Ever since Jessica Stanley had discovered she had two classes with Harry (back-to-back, unfortunately), she had taken upon herself the privilege to chat his ears off. Harry had been trying to pay attention to the class and his teacher, though Trigonometry was kind of easy for him, and having a gossiping teenage girl sitting next to him, eager for the latest scoop, certainly didn’t help him any. Every time he politely and discreetly mentioned his desire to stay focused in class (wouldn’t Hermione be proud?), Jessica just couldn’t get a clue.

Jessica looked stunned. “You don’t like me?” she whimpered. “Why not? I’m sure if you get to know me, you will! We can be friends and maybe even something more…”

Harry turned back around and his head met the table with a loud thud. He took in deep breathes and counted in Parseltongue in his head. When he realized Jessica was still standing behind him, Harry practically glared at her. “I’m gay!” he said clearly, enjoying the shocked look on her face. “So, I seriously doubt we could ever be anything more than friends, even if I wanted to get to know you.”

Jessica blinked, her mouth opening and closing as she was at a loss of words. “But…why? You can’t be gay!”

Harry’s eyebrow rose. “Right, because suddenly you play such a role in my life and know me better than myself that you can decide if I truly am gay or not.”

Jessica obviously didn’t know what to say and, though it was amusing to see her so shocked and disturbed, her presence was quickly becoming bothersome to the Cullens that had sat back and watched as Harry handled himself. “If you’re done,” Rosalie sneered, “get lost.”

Harry’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “This is _their_ table,” Harry pointed out to Jessica as he gestured to the Cullens. “So, please, you’re disturbing the peace.”

Jessica practically scampered back to her own table, humiliated and inwardly seething at Rosalie’s blatant disregard for her and Harry’s homosexuality.

Rosalie flipped her hair back. “Don’t even think that was to help you,” she hissed at Harry. “You’re just as annoying as she is.”

“Of course,” Harry smoothly replied. “Because you’re holier-than-thou façade is so tolerable. Yes, I see where you have room to talk, blondie.”

Emmett quickly grabbed his wife’s arm to prevent her from jumping over the table and slapping Harry back to Britain. “Er…let’s keep the peace? Isn’t that why we…got rid of…that Stanley…girl?” he whimpered, nearly flinching as Rosalie glared at him.

“You don’t belong here,” Rosalie spat at Harry. “You’re an outsider and you never should’ve interfered with our family!”

“Why?” Harry shot back. “It’s not like you have some big secret that you have to hide from everyone!”

Rosalie reeled back as if he had just told her he was sleeping with Emmett. Her topaz eyes narrowed and her fist clenched tighter. “You don’t know what you’re getting into or how you being around will affect us.”

Harry snorted as he stood up. “Funny,” he mused. “It sounds like you really are trying to hide something. A bit of advice: _don’t make it so damn obvious_. The purpose of hiding something from people is so that, oh, I don’t know, they don’t know about whatever it is you’re hiding.”

Silence reigned on the table before Alice coughed and smiled at Harry and her siblings. “How do you like the classes so far, Harry?”

Harry spared her a sideways glance. “The actual classes are fine. I still think I’ll be murdered in the government class.”

Alice giggled. “Isn’t Edward going to tutor you in that class?” Harry nodded. “Oh dear, you will be murdered.”

Edward swatted Alice’s right arm with his left. “Funny,” he said quietly. “I’m an exceptionally talented teacher.”

Alice let out an unladylike snort. “Of course, like the time you taught me to ride a bike, right?”

“When are you going to let that go?” Edward practically growled. “The actual bike was faulty!”

Alice gave him a dry look. “Sure,” she murmured sarcastically. Turning to Harry, she explained. “It was about three years ago, after we moved here from Alaska. I never rode a bike and Edward told me he’d teach me. So, our dad Carlisle bought us this gorgeous one, and the lessons began.”

Harry laughed as Alice glared at Edward. “That bad?”

“Well, after I fell off of it a couple of times, Edward decided that I needed a demonstration. So, he gets on my bike, pedals it down the driveway, and broke it into a zillion pieces.”

“The bike was faulty!” Edward repeated, glaring at Harry and Alice, who were still laughing.

“That is priceless!” Harry said, chuckling still. “Did you ever learn to ride a bike?”

“Yes. Carlisle bought us a new one and Jasper taught me,” Alice said, smiling and waggling her eyebrows at her husband.

Jasper winked.

“Should I be worried even more about my government grade?” Harry teasingly asked Edward.

Edward rolled his eyes. “It depends on how bright you are. Looks like you should be crying and pulling your hair out right now.”

Harry smiled and opened his mouth to reply, but the bell rang. “Saved by the bell,” he commented as he stood up and dumped his tray. “See you around, Alice!”

“Bye Harry! Good luck in Biology!” Alice responded, waving enthusiastically.

Edward turned to Alice. “Are you sure it’s worth it?” he asked again, looking at her in all seriousness.

“You saw it, Edward,” Alice said gently. “Don’t you think it’ll be worth it?”

Edward sighed. “I really hope you’re right about this, though I don’t think your vision was completely accurate.”

He didn’t have to mention why, but Alice already knew.

“Don’t expect them to be one hundred percent correct. It depends on our decisions and if it was meant to be, then it’s going to happen. I just want to give it a shot; it feels right to at least try this.”

Rosalie scoffed. “I say we drop him; someone that annoying can’t possibly be worth it.”

“You don’t know that,” Edward said, rolling his eyes. “I don’t really like him either, but if Alice wants to try it, we should all make an attempt.”

“I haven’t even seen the vision. How do I know risking our family’s safety for somebody like that Potter kid?”

“I know we’re not on the best of terms right now, Rosalie,” Alice began softly, “but do you really mistrust my judgment that much?”

“I need proof,” Rosalie retorted. “It’s nothing personal; even if Carlisle or Esme were to suggest that we spend time and get to know Potter, I’d question their sanity.”

“There’s no way for you to see the vision,” Edward stated logically.

“So tell me about it. What’s so great about Potter that our family would fall apart without him?”

The warning bell rang, but the Cullens didn’t move.

“It’s better if you don’t know,” Alice said finally. “Because, no matter how badly I want this to happen, there’s always a possibility that it won’t, and though I’d be disappointed, it won’t be of any consequence to the rest of you.”

Rosalie stared at her. “I don’t like him, but I will tolerate him. Don’t expect me to take him out shopping or become chummy, because that will never happen.”

She turned and walked out of the cafeteria towards her next class.

“Give her some time,” Emmett told Alice. “If you and Edward are willing to give this a chance, I don’t see why the rest of us shouldn’t. Besides, I don’t mind hanging out with Harry. He’s not that bad and he can get under Edward’s skin; he could quite possibly be a future partner-in-crime.”

Edward gave Emmett a shove. “Thanks a lot, bro,” he said dryly as Emmett grinned and ran after his wife.

The bell rang, signaling their now tardy status.

“Make nice, Edward,” Alice called as she and Jasper strolled off in the same direction.

Jasper smirked at him. “Try to not to have too much fun!”

Edward made faces at them before hurrying to biology. When he arrived, he promptly apologized to his teacher and took his seat, cringing slightly when he noticed Harry next to it. Harry cocked an eyebrow and inclined his head before looking forward and writing down notes. Edward already knew much about biology, having repeated the course multiple times in different high schools and colleges around the United States. Glancing sideways, Edward still couldn’t help but wonder why Harry.

The other teen had black hair that wasn’t too short or too long, but rather wild like a crow’s nest or something. Edward inwardly snorted, though he knew on some level that he had no room to talk, considering his hair style. Harry had fair skin without any noticeable blemishes or imperfections, which had Edward considering what Harry was. Even the most perfect of humans had something wrong with their face, even if the human eye couldn’t detect it. And another thing—Harry’s eyes were an unusual shade of green. They were bright and a shade he hadn’t seen before.

Continuing with his inspection, Edward noticed a peculiar scar on the side of Harry’s neck. It looked as if he had been punctured somehow with something and an immediate idea came to mind. What if those puncture marks were some kind of clue as to what Harry was? Vampire popped in his head before he immediately dismissed the idea. There was no way Harry could be one of them. Edward could detect the thump-thump of Harry’s heart, Harry’s eyes weren’t red or topaz, and his skin was fair. It never occurred to Edward that there were other types of vampires out there.

“Are you quite finished staring at me or do you need some more time?”

Edward was abruptly brought back to reality. “Excuse me?”

Harry grinned. “Well, you’ve been staring for quite a few minutes and completely missed our assignment.”

Edward inwardly cursed. “What was it?”

Harry pointed at the microscopes. “Identifying the phases of mitosis. Fun, eh?”

Edward couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Think you’ll be extremely bad at biology as well?” he questioned as he glanced in the microscope. “Metaphase.”

“Actually,” Harry said as he grabbed the microscope from him and put in a new slide, “I’m okay at biology. We had…uh…different courses at my old school, but my best friend was a complete braniac and demanded I studied different subjects with her. Our little quality study sessions with each other included a whole lot more of academics than I’d have appreciated, but it turns out that it worked out for the better. Anaphase.”

Edward nodded his head, completely understanding. At the beginning of his life as a veggie vampire, going to school over and over again seemed tedious and he hadn’t cared much for it. Now, though, he came to appreciate each school he went to and was content with the chance to learn something new every year. “Seems like your friend is incredibly bright and you miss him. Why leave then? Prophase.”

Harry paused, his fingers lingering on the box of slides. “It’s a lot more complicated than it sounds,” he said carefully. “And Hermione is a she. It wasn’t like I was forced to leave, but I didn’t have much of a choice either.”

“And _that_ isn’t oxymoronic,” Edward said dryly.

“I told you it’s complicated,” Harry commented. “And I also remember telling you its personal.”

Edward inclined his head, absentmindedly wondering why he was even making small talk with this unknown creature. Still, he felt somewhat inclined to make an effort at tolerating Harry Potter considering the fact that he would probably end up really close to some of his siblings. “Indeed you did,” he murmured to himself.

“It’s nothing personal towards _you_ ,” Harry said as he looked up from the microscope. “I just moved here, I’m getting jumped by girls who can’t get a clue, and your family is just…wow. It’s obvious you don’t really like me, and I’m fine with that because I kind of don’t like you much either. Plus, that blonde sister of yours was really bugging me. Your family reminds me of people I knew back in Britain, and I’m not sure if that’s the only reason why I’m kind of attracted to your family. The ones that I met seem great. But, like I said, I just moved here. I’m in a new country all alone, sixteen years old, and just trying to fit in here more than I did back at home. I don’t exactly feel comfortable opening up to someone I’ve spent probably three hours with altogether.”

Edward grinned a little. “I don’t want you to open up to me,” he replied. “In fact, I don’t really care much for your problems. Alice wants to be your friend and Jasper and Emmett like you. The only reason why we’re even talking to each other is because of them and because we have two classes together. Otherwise, you’d just be another face to pass in the hallway.”

Harry smiled widely. “Good. We have an understanding then, yeah?”

“What understanding?”

“I want to be Alice, Emmett, and Jasper’s friend as well. If it means having to put up with you and Rosalie, I can live with that. I’m sure you both aren’t truly bad people. Maybe just misunderstood or bitchy most of the time. I don’t want to come between you guys and your family. So, I propose not fighting in front of them, if we ever have the need to fight,” Harry proposed.

“How are we doing so far over here?”

Edward and Harry smiled up at the teacher and said in unison, “Great.”

The teacher blinked. “Oh? You’ve completed the assignment? So quickly?”

“Yes,” Edward said smoothly. “We had an understanding earlier and were able to work together just fine.”

Harry smiled at the double meaning.

“Excellent. You have free time for the last ten minutes of class.”

Harry tapped his pencil. “Boredom; it’s a contagious disease.”

Edward, taken by surprise, snorted. “I know you don’t want to tell me your reason for leaving Britain, but can I ask you something else?”

Harry cocked an eyebrow. “Go ahead. I reserve the right not to answer.”

“Where are your parents? I mean, you’re only sixteen.”

Harry smiled somewhat bitterly. “They died when I was one; car accident.”

Edward winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Harry stood up and gathered his books. “Look, don’t worry about it, okay? It happened a long time ago, and it might sound horrible, but I didn’t know them. I only know how they look.” Noticing Edward still looking guilty, Harry could help being annoyed. “If you feel sorry for me, I’ll kick your arse and you can forget about our deal.”

Edward stood up and rolled his eyes. “I don’t feel sorry for you,” he lied. “I was just wondering how I’d feel without my parents.”

Harry gave him a look. “Sure, you were.”

Edward sighed. “Whatever. Look, when do you want to start the Government tutoring?”

Harry groaned and rubbed his temples. “Don’t mention that! It’s evil!”

“Mr. Jefferson told me to tutor you,” Edward pointed out. “So, that’s what I’ll be doing. Is there any time that’s inconvenient for you?”

Harry pondered this. “No, I think I’m pretty much available whenever.”

“Okay, this doesn’t make it any more difficult,” Edward said sarcastically.

“How about today? You can tell me about the school clubs while you’re at it,” Harry said.

Edward’s eyebrow rose on its own accord. “Clubs?”

“Yeah, clubs. You know, they’re little specific organizations. Like, say, a writing club. Or something like that.”

“I know what a club is,” Edward replied, agitated. “I just didn’t think you’d join a club.”

“Why? You don’t think I can join a club?”

“That’s not what I said!” Edward shot back.

“You were thinking it!”

“How presumptuous of you,” was the dry reply.

Harry glared at him. “Whatever. Just be at my house in two hours. Do you need directions?”

“No, I know where it’s at,” Edward replied instantly.

“You know where I live? That’s kind of creepy. Are you stalking me or something?”

“You’re not worth all that trouble,” Edward said, smiling condescendingly. “Besides, it’s a small town. Who doesn’t know where the new kid lives?”

Harry looked around him, pulling his messenger bag closer to him. “Well, I certainly feel naked,” he mumbled to himself. “Just be there, okay? I have to go.”

Edward nodded his head and watched as Harry walked past him, his figure soon swallowed up by the mass of students. Even when his siblings stood next to him, Edward’s eyes were focused on Harry’s fleeting form. He mentally slapped himself, and mumbled a quick, “Let’s go,” to his siblings, constantly telling himself that while he was watching Harry, not once did his gaze slip down to the dark-haired teen’s perfect-looking butt.

Nope, never.

A/N: I’m so tired. I had to take senior pictures today and I have to apply to college. Bah. Nightmare that is. (I’m going to become a neonatal practitioner and I need to get my B.S.N., so, I’m looking for colleges with that major.) That’s the latest scoop of my life. Yay.

About the chapter, I’m really happy with this. I like that Edward and Harry don’t get along; it seems so much more plausible. It makes me squeal, haha. Reviews are always welcome. I know a lot of people want them together, but that won’t be happening now. They need to get to know each other before anything. I don’t believe in love at first sight, so when they’ll get over that phase where they’re annoyed at each other, then they’ll begin to notice that they enjoy being with each other and stuff like that.


	6. VI: Complications

Chapter Six – Complications

Harry stared in mortification at the sight in front of him. “What are you guys doing here?” he asked breathlessly, torn between feeling happy and feeling anxious.

“Is that any way to greet us, Harry?” Hermione admonished, smiling brightly at her best friend as she attempted to stand up from her place on the sofa. “Aw, you look exactly like you did ten years ago.” She sniffled and wiped away a tear as she hugged him.

“It’s kind of creepy, mate,” Ron joked, smiling widely as he gave Harry a ‘man-hug’. “The power of glamours, right?”

“Right,” Harry replied weakly, dropping off his messenger bag by the door. “It’s good to see you two. It really is.”

“Then why do you sound like it’s the end of the world?” Hermione questioned, her hands on her hips as she leveled her gaze down at him. Harry discovered it was hard to look intimidating when you had a belly that resembled a watermelon and your face was red and blotchy from crying.

“Ah, well, you see, remember that vampire I was telling you about? Edward Cullen?”

Hermione nodded. “Yes, what about him?”

“Our teacher assigned him to be my tutor in American government and he’s going to come here in, say,” Harry paused and looked at the time, “ten minutes.”

“Well, we’ve been waiting for you for a while now,” Ron pointed out. “Where were you, anyway?”

“Shopping,” Harry replied, glancing around his house to make sure it was tidy.

“With no bags?” Hermione cocked an eyebrow.

“In the car,” Harry said absentmindedly, eyeing his floor critically.

“Calm down, mate, the house isn’t dirty. Do you like this bloke or something?” Ron asked, grinning slyly. He didn’t really care about whether or not Harry was gay. It just made him feel better that his mate would definitely never be interested in his younger sister and not put them into an awkward situation. Harry dating a bloke, he could handle; have his younger sister and his best mate become more than friends and all lovey dovey, he could not.

Harry, who had been walking towards his living room, stumbled. “Excuse me?” he cried. “I most certainly do not! Edward Cullen and I will NEVER become an item! You suggesting such a thing like that is insulting my taste, Ron!”

Ron chuckled at the sort of whiny tone. “Alright, calm down. No need to get so defensive.”

“No need? Ron, with that comment, I think you just made me straight. Maybe I should go out with Ginny or something now.”

Ron blanched. “It was a joke,” he responded. “Spare me the theatrics. You’re very much gay and Ginny is dating that idiot Nott.”

Harry opened his mouth to reply when the doorbell rang. He looked at the clock and cursed as he realized that not only had ten minutes left in a flash but he was distracted to the point of not smelling or sensing Edward coming. He frowned slightly and went to go open the door. “Hey,” he said. “Come right in.”

Edward nodded his head and stepped inside. He looked around the house, noting the style of it appreciatively. It was almost comical when he noticed Ron and Hermione, instantly freezing like a prey does when it realizes there’s a predator in the vicinity. “Um…hi…” he said lowly. Harry furrowed his brow slightly, feeling a little confused at the almost panicked look on the vampire’s face.

“Hello,” Hermione replied with a smile. “Are you a friend of Harry’s?”

“Sort of,” Edward responded, reserved.

Harry rolled his eyes at the tension in the air. He was more than a little annoyed at the turn of events. First Acastus had provoked Edward, causing Harry to suffer the consequences and experience eight hours of pure boredom. Now Ron and Hermione had unexpectedly showed up and Harry was more-than-sure that the reason Edward was more than a little panicked was because he could tell they were magical. It didn’t take much to figure out, really. Even if a witch or wizard was able to hide their aura and scent, almost every magical creature could still tell what they really were. Harry wasn’t sure how exactly, but his vampire instincts would scream and he would be able to detect a faint scent of recently used magic. Having his best mates here, though it was a nice gesture and made him feel warm since they traveled all the way from Britain just to make sure he was alright, complicated his supposed-to-be-normal life a lot more.

Having his best mates here was an unexpected surprise that wasn’t completely unwelcome, but wasn’t completely accepted either. With a sigh, Harry gestured towards the vampire.

“Ron, Hermione, this is Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Ron and Hermione. They’re the children of my parents’ friends and used to be my babysitters,” Harry explained, resisting the urge to glare at Ron and Hermione’s amused look.

“Nice to meet you,” Edward replied politely.

“Don’t worry, they were just leaving. They’re the sort of parently type, you know? No matter how many times I say that I’m fine, they just have to come see proof for themselves.”

Edward nodded understandingly. “My mother is the same way whenever I go visit my friends back in Alaska,” he said empathetically.

Hermione sighed wistfully. “It feels like yesterday he was this two-year-old brat that we had to watch and now he’s grown up into an even bigger brat that you just want to squeeze to you.”

Harry’s eyebrow twitched. “Where are you staying?” he asked.

“Nowhere since we’re heading back to Britain tonight,” Ron replied before handing Harry a bag. “We originally came to give you this. Hermione found it and decided that she missed you and that we had to stop by and give it to you.”

“Wow,” Edward said. “That’s pretty nice; you’re not really family and you would fly all the way to America just to hand him something.”

Hermione giggled somewhat nervously. “Yeah,” she mumbled. “Well, with Harry all by himself, you never know what’ll happen. A stove might blow up!”

Edward chuckled lightly. “That'll be something to tell his adoring fans at school. I'm sure they'd all be very willing to teach him how to cook."

“I’ll have you know,” Harry replied indignantly, “that I am a fabulous cook. It’s just…I’m accident prone…and it’s not my fault that things end up getting stuck in the crossfire.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, mate. Anyways, we have to head out. Hermione wanted to see what restaurants you guys have out here.”

Hermione smiled slightly bashfully. “I’m hungry and feeding two right now,” she explained, rubbing her overgrown belly.

Edward’s eyes drifted towards it. “Congratulations,” he said lowly, offering the tiniest of smiles.

The soon-to-be-yet-again-parents beamed. “We’ll be leaving now, Harry,” Hermione said tearfully. She hugged him as best she could with her watermelon-sized stomach.

“See ya, mate,” Ron said as he clapped Harry on the back.

Harry smiled at his best mates. “You guys should come over for dinner,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Hermione and Ron nodded and left, the former complaining of back problems and the latter promising a massage.

“They seem nice,” Edward said, breaking the silence that had followed after the Weasleys had left.

“They’re the best,” Harry said, beaming at Edward. He seemed to remember that he was annoyed with the vampire and instantly stopped. “I’ve got to go get my groceries before they go bad. You can either wait on the sofa for me to get back or come with me to my car to get them. Your choice.”

Harry exited his house and walked over to his car, popping open the trunk and grabbing several bags. Muscular, pale arms reached into the trunk and grabbed the rest of them. Harry’s eyes lifted to meet Edward’s. “Are you going to stare at me or are you going to bring in the food so it won’t spoil?”

Harry’s eyebrow twitched at the jibe. “I wasn’t staring at you,” he grit out before closing his trunk and walking briskly to his house. A part of him was annoyed at being caught staring at those nice arms and another part was denying it all. “Come.”

Edward smirked at him knowingly and made his way to the kitchen. When Harry looked at him oddly, he asked, “What?”

“How’d you know where the kitchen was, you stalker?” Harry demanded.

Edward rolled his eyes. “Hm, let me think of an answer that won’t reveal the fact that I sneak into your house every night,” he said sarcastically. “Oh! I think I got one. See, I was invited into the house and had a perfect view of the kitchen when I was speaking to your former babysitters. Yes, that seems like the best answer right now.”

Harry scowled at him. “Smart arse,” he hissed. As he walked away, ignoring Edward’s smug grin, he made sure to mumble insults that the vampire would pick up.

Edward nearly choked when he heard them: “Stupid Edward Cullen…smug jerk…pale like a frickin’ vampire…honestly, who is that pale? I should see if he feels cold…” He swallowed thickly and passed Harry the rest of the bags.

“Something wrong?” Harry asked, inwardly cackling.

“Nothing,” Edward murmured. “I just have to go call my siblings and let them know that I’m here all safe and sound and that you haven’t sodomized me yet. Excuse me.”

Harry’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. Irritated, he grabbed a shiny red apple that was on the counter and threw it at the smirking vampire. It hit his foot and somehow rolled up his leg after Edward lifted his foot. Edward caught it with both hands, his arms pointed outward like a ‘V’. “Jerk,” Harry said with a pout.

Edward chuckled. “You’ll have to do better to best me, Mr. Potter,” he taunted and, as a spur of the moment thing, took a bite out of it as he left the kitchen. Immediately his face screwed up in disgust and, leaving the house with his phone in hand, dropped the apple in the bushes as he spit the rest of it out. He shuddered, effectively grossed out and called Alice.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Alice cried, laughing hard.

“Shut up,” he replied sulkily. “That was so nasty.”

“You just made my day,” Alice replied, giggling still.

“Anyways,” Edward practically growled, “we have a problem.”

Alice immediately stopped laughing. “What is it?”

“When I came to Harry’s house, there were two people here.”

“And how is that supposed to give us a problem?” Alice questioned.

“They were, well, magical. A witch and a wizard.”

Pandemonium erupted in the Cullen household.

“I knew he was bad news!” Edward could hear Rosalie’s voice, though it was presumably far away.

“Edward,” Esme said (he could only assume she took the phone from Alice) softly, “do you think they’re a threat to us?”

“No, I don’t,” he said after a while. “They seemed nice enough and I couldn’t really smell anything off about them.”

“They could still be a threat,” Jasper said from somewhere within the living room.

“I don’t know how I couldn’t see them,” Alice muttered. “I should’ve been able to.”

“Maybe you not seeing them means that they aren’t a threat to us,” Emmett suggested helpfully.

Alice seemed to snap out of her little daze. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “My previous vision hasn’t changed; I think we were supposed to find out.”

“You can’t be serious!” Rosalie screeched. “A normal human we could handle, but we’re talking about wizards! In case you have forgotten, they hate us! They despise our kind; what’s to say that these wizards aren’t any different?”

“Are you sure?” Jasper asked Alice.

“Positive,” the seer replied. “If Harry being friends with witches and wizards was detrimental to our existence, then the vision would change.”

“Your visions are becoming more faulty,” Rosalie said quietly. “You couldn’t even see them coming. What’s to say we can trust what you say now?”

A slap resounded.

Edward winced. “Look,” he said, “we can talk about this when everybody is home. For right now, I’ll try to find out as much information as I can while I’m here.”

He hung up the phone before anybody could say anything and briefly wondered when everything would fall apart.

Little did he know, Harry heard everything. While he put the groceries away, Harry chuckled when Edward spit out the apple. It was comical, really, and ruined his supposedly ‘cool’ exit. When Edward informed his family about Ron and Hermione, he froze and cursed. Hearing the Cullens argue amongst themselves made him feel slightly guilty. They were fighting about him and his friends, and it seemed like that was sort of tearing the family apart. On the other hand, Harry felt very angry. According to the conversation he heard, Alice was a seer and had a particular vision. It felt like he was the Boy-Who-Lived all over again. Instead of people liking him or wanting to be his friend for who he was, they did it because of what he could do for them. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the vision Alice had had would benefit their family and Harry felt stupid for thinking that being in America would allow him some semblance of normalcy. Before he knew it, he was so angry that the lights were flickering and his house was shaking. He tried desperately to keep some form of control and, after a few breaths, managed to reign in his temper though not before some of his plates shattered.

Edward walked into the kitchen and cocked an eyebrow. To the human eye, Edward appeared indifferent or perhaps even aloof. However, Harry wasn’t human, and he could tell that Edward was feeling very nervous around him. There was, without a doubt, a lingering scent of recently used magic. Ignoring Edward for the moment, Harry grabbed the broom and began to sweep up the mess as he wondered how the hell he’d get out of this one. It was insanely quiet in the kitchen before Harry broke the silence.

“Your siblings happy I haven’t raped you yet?” he said, looking at the other vampire with semi-forced amusement.

Edward felt his lips twitch a little. “Rosalie still thinks it’s a matter of time. It’s as if she thinks you’re the spawn of the devil.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “You never know,” he mused. “I was told that I am fairly unpredictable.”

Edward swallowed the venom that formed in his throat. He was more than a little nervous with his instincts yelling at him to get his sorry ass out of Harry’s house. At first he had thought only Ron and Hermione were the magical folk, but with the heavy scent of magic permeating the air, he knew he was wrong. Harry had to be a wizard and that would explain some things. Though he had no idea what exactly wizards could do, considering his little to no contact with them, Edward had a sneaky suspicion that magic was the reason for Harry’s lack of scent.

A smooth, tan hand began waving back and forth in front of his face.

“Huh?” he said aloud.

“Jeez, don’t space out like that. It’s creepy,” Harry stated, frowning. “Anyways, are you ready?”

“For what?” Edward asked, staring into Harry’s face.

“For sex,” Harry said dryly. “You’re supposed to tutor me in government. And, in case you forgot, you’re also supposed to tell me about the clubs at school.”

“Oh, right,” he replied, choosing to ignore Harry’s sarcastic comments. “Where do you want to do this?”

“The living room is fine.”

The two vampires relocated into the living room and the torture began. Edward informed Harry everything he knew about the American government and was more than a bit amused when Harry groaned and moaned about how worthless all the information was, considering the fact that the career he wished to go into didn’t require him to know about crap laws that he’d never hear of again.

It wasn’t until two hours later that Edward let up.

“Finally,” Harry breathed, closing his textbook and throwing his pen down. “I’ll need to go watch forty hours of television to get that crap out of my head.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Edward rolled his eyes.

“You know this shite! I’ll most likely never need to know this!” Harry complained.

“Wimp,” Edward said lowly. Harry would’ve rewarded that with a lovely comeback of his own, but remembered he wasn’t supposed to hear that.

“Anyways,” Harry said, “tell me about the clubs at school.”

Edward let out a human sigh. “I haven’t joined any clubs so I don’t know exactly what goes on in them. The only things I can tell you about them are facts you probably already know.”

Harry gave him a withering look. “I’m British,” he pointed out. “And the boarding school I attended was in Scotland. I haven’t the foggiest idea what American clubs or hobbies consist of, so kindly inform me.”

Edward rolled his eyes again. “Fine, fine. Don’t glare like that; you’ll get early wrinkles. Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I was too late in telling you this, huh?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Clubs,” he said eagerly.

“There’s an art club. They do any form of art and showcase them around the school. The pieces they create can be used in a portfolio if you’re interested in going to college for art. There’s a writing club. They write about any and every type of genre and subject and compete in writing contests. Ther—”

“Is there a drama club?” Harry interrupted, looking at Edward curiously.

Edward nodded his head slowly. “Yeah, but you wouldn’t want to join that.”

Harry could feel a vein popping in his forehead. “And why not?” he said indignantly.

‘ _Because you can’t even keep your secret,’_ Edward had wanted to say. Instead, he replied, “Because they do musicals. If you can barely talk without your voice grating on someone’s nerves, what makes you think you can sing?”

Harry’s nostrils flared. “I can so carry a tune!” he snapped. “And I’ll prove it to you! I’ll get the lead in the next upcoming musical!”

“Yeah, sure,” Edward said sarcastically. “And I’m the tooth fairy in disguise.”

“You’re certainly pretty enough to be one,” Harry said sweetly, enjoying the way Edward glared at him.

“Alright. Try out for the lead,” Edward said amiably though a decidedly evil smirk crept its way on his face. “You won’t get it.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “And just why the bloody hell won’t I?”

“Because,” Edward replied as he buffed his nails, “I’ll get the lead.”

Harry swelled in anger. “Wanna bet on that, Cullen?” he hissed.

“What do I get if I win?” he asked.

“What do you want?” Harry retorted.

Edward thought about it before shrugging. “Winner receives something to be determined at a later date,” he decided.

“Deal,” Harry said as they shook on it.

Edward grinned at Harry’s still ticked off expression. “It’s getting late,” he murmured, getting up and stretching deliberately. “I’d better get home and sleep. After all, I need to make a good impression tomorrow when I wow the drama club.”

Harry took great pleasure in slamming the door after Edward left his house.

Edward chuckled bemusedly and hopped into his Volvo. He didn’t really know why he had provoked Harry so much. There was just something about the teen’s expression that seemed so…delightful?...and made him want to continuously annoy the hell out of him. On the other hand, though, Harry could be a danger to them. That immediately erased all traces of amusement from Edward. One part of him wanted to immediately cut off all contact with the Potter, but another part of him wanted to get to know him a little more. Though Harry severely annoyed him, he seemed alright enough and his reactions surely guaranteed entertainment. But, his family…

Edward dreaded going home. He could hardly imagine what was going on at the moment and cursed this entire situation his family landed in. Flooring it, Edward made it back to his home in record time. Using his vampire speed to go inside, Edward had prepared for the worse. Instead, the living room was empty. Frowning, he dropped his backpack by the stairs and searched the entire house. Knocking the door to Alice and Jasper’s room, he waited patiently for them to open it.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Alice sighed and gestured for him to have a seat besides Jasper. “The shit hit the fan,” she replied softly.

“Rosalie and Emmett are going on a little vacation to Alaska,” Jasper explained. “Esme and Carlisle decided that everybody needed to calm down and the best way to do that is by separating us for a while. They went to go drop them off; Rosalie and Emmett will be gone for a week.”

Edward nodded his head slowly. “I think we have another little issue,” he said. At Alice and Jasper’s questioning looks, he continued. “I think Harry is a wizard as well. When I went back inside, I could smell the magic in the air. Maybe that’s why we can’t detect a scent from him. His magic could be hiding it, though I’m not sure if that’s possible.”

Alice frowned thoughtfully. A light bulb seemed to go off in her head and she started up her laptop. “Did you know that wizards have websites?” she asked. “I stumbled across one somewhere in the last decade.”

“Don’t wizards separate themselves from the non-magical world? Why would they have websites when that could expose them?” Jasper asked.

Alice shrugged. “I’m no expert in wizards and magic,” she replied. “But, anyways, the website that I stumbled upon said something like, ‘A Mooglebird’s Guide to Magic.’ I don’t remember the title.”

“Mooglebird?” Edward snorted.

“Here it is,” Alice stated, clicking on the website she bookmarked. “Ah, it’s _Muggleborn_. I wonder what _that_ is…”

“Click on the news,” Jasper said, pointing at the button.

Alice obeyed and her jaw dropped. “Oh, my…”

Edward stared at the top article, his mouth slack and his eyes wide. Jasper shook his head, mumbling, “What the hell are we getting ourselves into?”

There, in bold letters, read: **Harry Potter, Savior and Hero of the Wizarding World, Missing**.

A/N: Sorry for the long update. It would’ve been sooner, but I was on vacation and the computer in my aunt’s house fried. That meant no access for weeks; I was tortured. Anyhow, hope you enjoy the latest installment of _You Sang to Me_. Originally, Edward was going to find out that Harry was a vampire/wizard combo. But then I thought to myself, “How boring! Why figure that out only six chapters in?” So now they only know he’s a wizard and supposedly a threat to their family. Fun, right? I feel kinda bad for Harry; he just wants to have a “normal” life (normalcy is overrated, by the way) and everybody seems to be ruining it for him. I think Edward and Harry fighting for the lead role in a school musical will be interesting, to say the least. Hope you like that. If not, well, get over it. XP

As the story progresses, the questions people have been asking me _will_ be answered. Please be a little more patient. **Also, I need a beta. Anyone interested?** And, to all the Hermione-haters: Sorry, she’s going to continue to show up in the story. I understand if you don’t want to read it anymore because you don’t like her character, but I won’t be taking her out of the story just because a couple of people are a bit peeved. I’m writing this story the way I want to for me and I want her in it. So, yeah, she’s gonna stay…

Please vote in the poll. **It will probably close in a week and I won’t accept any more after that.**


	7. VII: Discoveries

Chapter 7 - Discoveries

Harry couldn’t say he was surprised when, the day after Ron and Hermione stopped by, the Cullens decided to pay him a visit. It irritated him, but he expected them to try to find out why a wizard would come to their lovely little town so suddenly. Hell, he even expected the distrust and hatred coming from primarily Rosalie simply because of the stupid Wizard-Vampire feud. He hadn’t, however, expected the leader to kind of remind him of his old Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

“Good evening,” the head Cullen said politely when Harry answered the door. “Might we come in and have a chat?”

Harry glanced at him and the Cullens behind him before stepping aside and inviting him into their home. “Sure. Let’s get this done with.”

Carlisle Cullen smiled amiably as he followed Harry into the living room. At Harry’s gesture, the family either sat on the couches or stood. Rosalie seethed silently and Harry felt a smile coming on at him irritating her so much. She seemed like another Draco Malfoy and he could tell he was going to have so much fun bothering her. His eyes shifted to Alice, who smiled hesitantly at him. He could tell that she was torn, not quite sure if he wanted to be friends with her or if he despised vampires and was only toying with her. It certainly explained why she along with the rest of the teenage Cullens had been practically avoiding him earlier at school.

“I’m Carlisle Cullen,” Carlisle began. “This is my wife, Esme, and I’m sure you’ve already met my children.”

Harry nodded. “Harry Potter,” he said quietly. “Now, what can I do for you?”

Esme twisted her hands slightly. “Well, how do you like Forks so far?”

Harry’s eyebrow rose at the question. “Quite well, actually. It’s a beautiful town.”

“That’s good,” Carlisle said. “I don’t mean to be intrusive or overstep any boundaries, but what is a wizard doing in a small town like this?”

“I could ask the same thing about vampires,” Harry replied amusedly. “Then again, I suppose the weather does help you with your little secret.”

Though Carlisle showed no signs of discomfort, Esme and Alice both shifted a little and Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “Are you here to hunt us?” the head Cullen asked, smiling though his body was tense.

“No,” Harry replied. “I have no interest in this pathetic Wizard-Vampire feud.”

“Liar,” Rosalie hissed angrily. “You wizards are all the same You’re vile to anything that isn’t human and, what’s more, you’re violent to even your own kind ”

“Of course,” Harry drawled. “Because vampires are like Count Dracula. I mean, after all, every single vampire enjoys feeding on humans and stays in an incomprehensible bloodlust. That’s why you and I aren’t having a, intelligent on my part and ignorant on your part, conversation. I completely see your point, Rosalie.”

Rosalie moved forward, furious at Harry when a force kept her rooted in place. She glared at him. “What are you doing to me?” she grit out.

“Considering how polite and nice your siblings are, I’ll assume you were taught manners as well,” Harry spat. “You want to come into my own home and throw your bias around, go ahead. However, you will not start a brawl here based on crimes committed by my race and not me ”

Rosalie’s eyes spat fire and her lip curled into a snarl. “Let me go,” she said.

Harry noticed Rosalie’s eyes nearly black and inwardly cursed. “Not when it’s apparent you haven’t fed for a while,” he said dryly. “I thought you veggie vampires liked to keep on top of your diet.” Harry disappeared into the kitchen only to reappear with a box of what looked like lollipops. He released Rosalie’s upper body from his magic’s hold and threw it at her. “Eat it.”

“Like I’d eat anything you gave me,” she snarled even though she caught it.

“It’s a Blood Pop,” he replied, irritation clear in his voice. “Eat it before you go even more batty.”

Carlisle coughed delicately. “So, you’re not here for us?” he asked.

Harry looked at him. “No,” he said. “Like I said before, I have no desire to participate in the ignorant feud going on between vampires and wizards. It’s stupid and I don’t have time for it. I’ve other things to worry about.”

“And you won’t have your friends hunt us?” Edward asked, speaking for the first time.

Harry whirled on him, annoyed. “It’s very arrogant and presumptuous to think that the only reason for my being here is to hunt you,” he said pointedly. “Besides,” he looked Edward up and down, “you wouldn’t be worth it.”

Edward’s jaw dropped slightly. “What do you mean by that?” he asked, unsure of why he was feeling offended when he should be feeling relieved.

“I mean exactly what I said,” Harry drawled. “You wouldn’t be worth the time and effort and money it would take to purchase any supplies or gather more people or other nonsensical essentials.”Alice giggled at Edward’s face while Emmett guffawed and Jasper managed a tiny smirk.

“That’s a relief,” Carlisle said, smiling at Harry. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, Alice has told us a lot about you.”

Harry’s lips upturned. “Good things, I hope,” he mumbled.

“We’re gonna be best friends ” she squealed, moving to sit next to Harry. “I knew it I saw it Ha, I knew I was right ”

Harry cocked an eyebrow. “You saw it?”

“Yup ” Alice chirped. “I have visions.”

Harry blinked. “I need a drink.”

“Something wrong with that?” Jasper questioned, amused at Harry’s reaction.

“Nothing at all,” he said dryly. “You don’t have to tell me about your abilities; I’m certainly not going to tell you mine.”

“Is it because you’re the Boy-Who-Lived?” Edward asked, noting Harry’s reaction to the name.

Harry froze and glared at him. “How do you know about that?” he asked darkly.

“We found an article online,” Jasper said, looking at the wizard warily. “Something about you going missing.”

“So, you looked me up online?” Harry hissed before he stood up and started to pace. “Ever hear of invasion of privacy? That information...I can’t even...unbelievable...” Harry paused mid-rant. “Wait, you found an article online?”

“Yes,” Alice confirmed, frowning slightly and cocking her head to the side. “If that information is supposed to be something private, why would it appear on a website of all things?”

“It’s not really private,” Harry murmured, eyes narrowed as he thought about it. “All of the wizarding and magical creature communities know about it...so, you found this online?”

“You’ve already asked that multiple times and the answer is still going to say the same,” Edward said, getting annoyed with Harry parroting his question. “Besides, if this isn’t a private fact or anything, why are you making such a big deal about it?”

Harry smiled condescendingly at Edward and sat next to him. “You’re a different breed of vampire,” he began, speaking slowly as if he were talking to a kindergartner. He mentally cheered at Edward’s visible irritation. “You most likely haven’t truly been educated properly in your race and learned by trial and error. You probably were only made aware of magic and wizards by running into a couple that hate your race, leading to blondie’s prejudice over here, am I correct?”

Carlisle coughed. “Yes.”

Esme frowned. “Is it that obvious?”

“Like a brunette in a sea of blondes,” Harry said dryly. “You are what the Wizarding World classifies as a Muggle vampire. Because of this, you are somewhat ignorant of traditional vampire customs and whatnot. You’ve not truly been exposed to Wizarding culture and don’t know about the advances discovered for the vampire race.”

“What does this have to do with you being whiny?” Edward asked, smirking a little when Harry glared at him.

“Because you’re a Muggle vampire, you tend to shun the Wizarding influence that other breeds of vampires have. So, the Wizarding World basically ignores your existence and won’t have strong enough barriers hiding our culture from you and because you’re Muggle vampires, though you’re stronger than a human, your aura is almost like a human’s. The way a barrier is created is by the creator syncing auras to the barrier, disallowing those specific species from entering because the barrier is to keep them out.”

“So, because our aura is like a human’s, we shouldn’t have been able to stumble upon the website,” Carlisle summarized.

“In a nutshell, yes. And that’s if a barrier was even put up. Regardless of that, the creator of that website can face a serious fine for being so wreckless.” Harry sighed and shook his head, running his hand through his hair. “Wait, who accessed the website?”

“I did along with Edward and Jasper,” Alice said.

“And you have an extra power, right?”

Alice nodded. “Yup.”

“Forget everything I said. I’ll just sue them for putting information about me on the sight without my knowing. That has to be a violation of my rights,” Harry said, mumbling the last part to himself.

Edward nearly glared at the wizard. “Stop being so damn confusing,” he snarled, annoyed. “What would the difference be if Alice accessed the website compared to if Emmett or Rosalie accessed it?”

“Simply put,” Harry said, peering at Edward as if he was an insignificant bug, “you vampires with those extra abilities aren’t Muggle vampires. Most likely, while they were human, those vampires had too much magic to be considered a Squib or Muggle but too little magic to even be considered a Muggle-born witch or wizard.”

Alice blinked in shock. “So, I was magical when I was human?” she asked, eyes wide in wonderment.

At Harry’s nod, Rosalie was sent reeling. Harry had to be lying. There was no way any member of her family had anything to do with wizard vermin.

A sudden noise had everyone in the room jerking their heads towards the fireplace. Harry knew someone was going to use the Floo and, sensing the aura, smiled. When Acastus had set it up, he tied it to Harry’s magic thus enabling him to know who was coming through it and Harry was pleased with that. Standing up, he moved in front of the fireplace and caught the body that flew out. The Cullens stood up in shock.

“Nice catch, Uncle Harry ” Amelia Weasley chirped, flashing him a toothy grin. “Can I hide here?”

Harry cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well,” the five-year-old started, “we were bored so Rose and I were going to play a game only she keeps cheating and has the portraits tell her where I’m at and other things So, I came here She’ll never find me now ”

Harry sighed. “I have some...” he paused. “...friends over. Why don’t you stay here and play video games?”

Amelia gasped in delight and nodded her head. “Oh, Uncle Harry, do you have the game with the round yellow guy that races?”

Harry threw an apologetic glance at the Cullens before he went over to set up the game. “Yes, and that round yellow guy is called PacMan, Amelia.”

“Yeah, yeah, him,” she said as she grabbed the controller he passed her.

“Um, do you mind taking this conversation to the kitchen?” Harry asked lowly, nodding his thanks when the Cullens began moving to the kitchen. He noticed Emmett glancing longingly at the game and said, “You can play with her if you want.”

Emmett was only too delighted to sit next to the five year old and plug in a controller. “Hello,” he said. “My name’s Emmett.”

Amelia looked at him and her eyes bugged a little. “Wow,” she breathed. “You’re bigger than my daddy ”

Harry chuckled at Amelia’s statement. “Amelia, are you hungry?”

“Yes ” she called, eyes glued to the screen as she and Emmett began racing.

Harry nodded and walked into the kitchen. He threw an annoyed glance at Edward, who was leaning next to his fridge. “You mind?”

Edward rolled his eyes before moving, watching as Harry took out things. “How sure are you about the whole ‘used to have some magic as a human’ thing?” he asked, contemplating how this information would undoubtedly change his family a bit.

Harry put water to boil. “It’s a proven fact,” he said, sounding a bit like Hermione. “I suppose I can part with some of my books with you.”

“That would be most helpful,” Carlisle said gratefully. “I have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind.”

“Fire away,” Harry replied, shrugging.

“What kind of medical advances have been discovered for the vampiric races? Does the Volturi know of these advances? What are the laws regarding vampires in the Wizarding World?”

Harry blinked. “Concerning medical advances, wizards are researching ways to help Muggle vampires stop the bloodlust that overcomes most of them. The research team that’s working on this also helped discover the Wolfsbane potion that helps werewolves keep their minds during the full moon, so there’s a very high chance of them succeeding.”

Rosalie sneered. “Why would wizards even bother to help vampires? And, really, while we’ve reached the topic, why bother helping werewolves anyway? They’re vermin as well.”

Harry turned around and stared at Rosalie dangerously, his emerald eyes shining. “My godfather is a werewolf and one of the kindest men on the face of this planet. You will do well not to disrespect him in my home,” he said calmly.

Rosalie would’ve responded, only she saw the barely restrained power that lingered in his eyes, and opted instead to scoff and look away.

Carlisle sighed and gently shook his head. He couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed in Rosalie and her obvious prejudice views. “Forgive her,” he apologized. “I’m sure no disrespect was intended.”

Harry turned his gaze towards Carlisle. “Please, don’t apologize for her actions,” he said. “She’s a big girl, and no disrespect intended towards you, but I’m pretty sure she intended it. I won’t accept an apology from somebody else for somebody else.”

Carlisle sighed once more but nodded his head, sparing a glance at his surrogate daughter. “Does the Volturi know of these advances?” he asked, changing the topic.

Harry let out a bark of laughter. “The Volturi, although they’re powerful vampires, are as prejudice and bigoted as blondie over here. They not only refuse to consider wizarding advances, but they also had the audacity to insult the very wizards that are trying to help them. Not trusting the Wizengamot and Ministry of Magic I understand considering the fact that all of the men that hold seats there are old and their views are severely outdated, but to insult honest and good wizards that are trying to help them better themselves is a bit much. But, like they say, you can’t help someone who doesn’t want help.”

“So they don’t know that whilst they were human, they had magic in them?” Alice asked. “Because I’m pretty sure nearly all of them have additional gifts.”

“Probably not,” Harry said. “Like I said, they’re prejudice. Every single race has those unfortunate persons that believe their race is superior to others and try to fight for domination. The Muggles had Hitler, for example, the wizarding race had both Grindelwald and Voldemort, the vampires have the Volturi, the werewolves had Kamalia Reule, the goblins had Dezx Fouldeath, and so on and so forth. These people are prejudice and so continue the cycle of hatred.”

The kitchen was silent for a few moments.

Harry finished cooking the meal he’d been preparing while talking and served some of the pasta in a place. “Amelia, come eat ” he called.

Amelia ran to the table and sat down. “Uncle Harry, I beat him ” she said excitedly as Harry tucked a napkin into her shirt. “I won in almost every single game ”

Emmett looked at his family. “I let her,” he informed them.

“Sure,” Jasper said, smirking. “Of course you did, Emmett.”

“I did ” Emmett cried. “You have to believe me ”

They didn’t.

A series of noises came from the fireplace and Harry was only glad that he made a lot of food. “This house is not big enough for so many people,” he grumbled under his breath before turning to the Cullens. “Mind finishing this conversation back in the living room?”

Without waiting for an answer, Harry lead the group of vampires back into the living room. He cocked an eyebrow when he noticed several bodies collapsed in front of his fireplace and crossed his arms, tapping his foot and waiting. Soon enough, the little bodies arranged themselves accordingly and smiled sheepishly at Harry.

“Did Amelia come here, Uncle Harry?” Rose asked, wiping a smudge of dirt from her nose.

“Do your parents know you’re here?” Harry asked them sternly.

The twins shook their heads. “No,” they said in unison. “But they’ll probably be here soon. Can we eat?”

Harry pointed towards the kitchen and watched as Jeremy and Jenna Weasley pulled Rose’s hair before running away. He let out an amused snort when he heard Rose lecturing Amelia about how to properly play Hide and Seek, only for the five-year-old to point out that if Rose could cheat and ask the portraits for help then it should’ve been no problem for her to ask dear Uncle Harry for help.

“You sure have a lot of relatives,” Edward commented. “No offense, but they look nothing like you.”

Harry rolled his eyes, but said nothing. “Anything else you want to know or would you rather just read the book?”

“We can read the book,” Carlisle said, deciding they’d stayed in Harry’s house long enough.

Harry nodded and went to retrieve said book. He went to his bookshelf and grabbed his copy of Vampires: Fact vs. Fiction. Without a second thought, he handed it to the first vampire he saw when he returned. Edward opened the book up and his eyes widened before he began to chuckle. Wondering what was so funny, Harry glanced at the book and gasped in mortification. “Give that back,” he cried, making a leap for it. Edward’s fast reflexes prevented Harry from retrieving the book.

“This is quite interesting,” Edward said mockingly. “Jasper, look at all of these lovely pictures.”

Jasper caught the book chucked at him and snickered. Alice looked at it over her shoulder and giggled helplessly. “Aw,” she said. “You’re absolutely adorable, Harry.”

Harry snatched the book away, embarrassed that he hadn’t checked the book before handing it off. Instead of the book it was supposed to be, it was a photo album of when Harry was a mere baby. The very first picture was of his first bath, showing off his little butt and disgruntled look at getting wet. He had no doubt that Acastus was behind this prank and vowed to get revenge on him.

“I wonder what happened,” Edward mumbled.

Harry glared at him. “Shut up and stay here while I get the right book.”

“Of course, your Majesty,” Edward mumbled sarcastically.

After retrieving the right book, the Cullens left Harry’s home. They could hear him speaking with his nieces and nephew and Edward couldn’t help but think about the way Harry had taken care of them. It was obvious he was a natural nurturer and that he was gifted with children.

_‘Looks like somebody is in wuv,’_ Emmett teased, smirking as he hopped into Rosalie’s car.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” Edward said lowly. “So shut up.”

_‘Emmett tease you?’_  Jasper asked, sparing Edward a glance before starting his ignition.

“I do  _not_  like him,” Edward replied, frowning.

Jasper, knowing who he was talking about, chuckled. ‘Who are you trying to fool? I know what you’re feeling. Shall I name a couple of emotions you seem rather fond of displaying? Though you both enjoy irritating and annoying each other, there is the beginnings of a crush. I don’t need to be an empath to see it. Besides, I don’t think it’s a one-sided affair.’

Edward swallowed the venom at the back of his throat and rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Jasper,” he said, pondering over what he said.

When the family of vampires arrived at their home, Carlisle called them all into the living room. “Rosalie,” he murmured. “I thought you agreed to hear him out without trying to jump down his throat.”

Rosalie looked away. “He’s going to be the same, Carlisle,” she said softly. “They all are. As soon as we turn our backs, they’ll kill us.”

“You don’t know that,” Esme reasoned. “He seems like a very sweet boy.”

“Jack and Grace seemed nice and now Lily’s dead ” Rosalie spat angrily, glaring at her family. “I won’t trust that boy and I certainly won’t approve of all of you fraternizing with the enemy ”

Her family watched as she stormed to her room. Rosalie’s dead heart almost constricted when she heard Esme’s whisper, “Losing a child is never easy.”

Rosalie slammed the door in her room and made a beeline towards her dresser. She grabbed her jewelry box and pulled out the little necklace she kept there. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry; there was a heart locket attached to the chain that opened to reveal a picture of her, Emmett, and a beautiful blonde-haired child. Her Lily.

_“Why are you doing this?” Rosalie cried, her normally perfect vision hazy. Her marble-like limbs felt numb, spahgetti-like. “Stop.”_

_“Because you will taint this child,” the woman said softly. “She will never know what it is to be normal. You can’t change what you are; though you try not to feed on humans, you can slip. You can kill this child.”_

_“I would never,” Rosalie spat vehemently. “Never Do you hear me, Grace?”_

__

Grace laughed coldly. “Maybe you won’t, but I can’t say the same for your,” she paused before sneering, “family.”

__

“Please, she’s only six,” Rosalie pleaded. “She has her whole life ahead of her.”

__

Grace cradled the sleeping child in her arms. “It’s better I give her a humane death instead of letting her suffer at the hands of your kind.”

__

“You can’t do this ” Rosalie exclaimed. “Just because you’re a witch doesn’t mean–”

__

“Oh, please,” Grace scoffed. “Before you even try that argument, as a witch it is practically my duty to protect people from your kind. You’re all the same; dark creatures that try to appear innocent. As soon as we turn our backs, we have to worry whether or not you’ll try to feed on us. No more I will kill every single vampire and dark creature, mark my words ”

__

“My Lily isn’t a vampire ” Rosalie argued.

__

“No,” Grace agreed. “Though she may have been innocent before, she isn’t anymore. She’s been exposed to your lifestyle; she knows about your eating habits and thinks they’re okay This child thinks there’s absolutely nothing wrong with your kind and won’t listen to reason You think I wanted it to come to this? I tried to convince her otherwise every time I watched her. But, no. You brainwashed her quite effectively. And now she has to go.”

__

Rosalie screamed as Grace’s hands made their way to Lily’s neck and snapped it. She dropped Lily like a rag doll and Rosalie stared in disbelief. ‘No,’ her mind whispered. ‘That didn’t happen. Lily is still alive. My little Lily is still here.’

 

_“And now,” Grace mumbled, smiling insanely, “you’re next.”_

Rosalie swallowed thickly and ran her hand along her arm where she knew her burn mark resided. She didn’t know what sort of potion Jack had threw at her after she ripped Grace to shreds, but it had effectively melted some of her skin off. That didn’t matter though. Grace took her Lily. Her beautiful little girl was gone now and it was all because of a stupid witch. Rosalie’s eyes hardened. She would never forgive magical beings for taking away her daughter.

Never.

A/N: Um, I’m  _soooo_  sorry. I hadn’t intended on taking this long to update. Life just kind of came at me fast, but I’m back on track now. Hope you like this new chapter. Now everyone knows Rosalie isn’t just being a frigid bitch. Thanks to all that voted and offered to be my beta. The pairing will be Acastus/Jacob Black. Acastus will appear in the next chapter and I'm not too sure when Jacob Black will appear. I've already begun writing the next chapter for this story. That will hopefully be out in less than two weeks. This chapter isn't beta-ed since my beta kind of...disappeared...Hm...

Please review!

 

 


	8. VIII: Pondering

Chapter 8 – Pondering

After he made sure the Weasley kids made it home, Harry fire called Acastus. As soon as the blond vampire Flooed to Harry's house, a thick book greeted him. He let out a yelp of shock when the book repeated its assault, despite it not really causing him pain. A particularly hard whack in the face caused him to fall to the floor, making him drop the book in his hand. He glanced up at furious green eyes with a small amount of worry.

"H-Harry, love, what the bloody hell are you doing?" he managed.

"Me?" Harry questioned innocently with a tilt of his head. His eyes grew stormier despite the cherub expression he displayed. "Why, Acastus darling, I'm seeking retribution."

"For what?" Acastus cried as Harry straddled him and repeatedly tried to bash his marble-like face in.

"I'll have you know that I lent a book to the Cullens," Harry snarled as he glared at him. "Do you know what they found as soon as they opened it?"

Acastus easily grabbed his hands and held him in place as he pondered. When he remembered that he had hid baby pictures of Harry's in one of his books, a giggle spilled out of his mouth unbidden. Soon he was laughing as Harry pouted angrily. "That's why you told me to come over?" Acastus gasped out.

Harry flicked him in the forehead. "It's not funny," he practically whined. "They didn't need to see that!"

"Why not? You were adorable as a baby," Acastus said. He looked at the position they were in and smirked. "In fact, you're still quite the looker. Are you sure you wouldn't want to g—"

Harry smacked his hand over Acastus' mouth. "We both know damn well that we'll never be," he hissed, mock glaring at the blond vampire.

"Doesn't mean we can't have fun," Acastus said slyly, his eyes twinkling merrily.

Harry rolled his eyes, knowing Acastus was joking, and got off him. "The Cullens know I'm a wizard," he said quietly. "They came over to see if I was trying to hunt them."

Acastus laughed. "Oh really? That's hilarious! A wizard-vampire hunting vampires! Look on the bright side: at least they have no idea that you're a vampire."

Harry sighed. "Fabulous," he muttered under his breath.

Acastus regarded him seriously. "You didn't tell them that you're also a vampire, right?"

"Of course not!" Harry snapped. "I barely know them. Just because they seem nice doesn't mean they're the good guys."

"Just checking," Acastus told him, holding his hands up disarmingly. "You could at least consider telling your family."

"I'm not having this discussion with you again, Acastus. Drop it."

Acastus sighed and rolled his eyes. "You, Harry Potter, are an enigma. Everybody thinks you're cool and hip and want to be your friend or just like you. I'm pretty sure nobody would think twice about you being a vampire."

"You know the Wizarding World's point of view on what they classify as dark creatures, Savior be damned."

"Sweetie, if you told everyone you were a vampire, they'd be begging to become one. You could make it a trend," Acastus said amusedly. "Besides, not only are you a vampire, but you're also a wizard-vampire. I don't need to tell you how rare you are."

"Freak," Harry mumbled with a slight frown. "I couldn't even become a vampire properly."

Acastus wacked him upside the head—hard. "You know I hate that word," he accused. "And you're not a freak; you're special. Most wizards lose all of their magic when they're turned, if they even survive the change. The strongest wizard-turned-vampire recorded in history only kept a tiny fraction of his magic. But you, Harry dearest, have kept all of it. Not a single drop of your magic is gone. That's something wonderful; something you should rejoice about. Don't you dare lessen the miracle that happened to you by labeling yourself as a freak."

Harry glanced at Acastus and grinned. "Thanks," he said sheepishly. "I suppose this week has just been stressing me out. I mean, I came here to relax. I didn't expect to find vampires here or for my cover to be blown and then forced to deal with this whole wizard-vampire grudge that Blondie Cullen has against me. Guess I couldn't help reverting to how I used to be."

Acastus gave him a hug. "You'll find a way to make everything better," he assured. "You always do. Now, what's this about Blondie Cullen holding a grudge?"

Harry pulled from the hug and moved to the living room, sitting on the sofa and rolling his eyes. "Rosalie Cullen is perhaps one of the most bigoted vampires I ever met," he said with a slight sneer. "She keeps going on and on about how my kind is so horrible and I'm a threat to her family and other such nonsense."

Acastus frowned slightly. "How rude," he sniffed. "What are you going to do about it?"

Harry smirked. "What makes you think I'll do something about it?"

The blond vampire let out a delicate snort. "I'm not a fool, Harry. You have Marauder blood in your veins and you also have that Slytherin side of you that you now use shamelessly. I know you're going to do something about her."

Harry chuckled. "I'm going to make my dad and Sirius proud," he said firmly. "I'll send you pictures of the results after it happens, if you like."

"Of course I'd like!" Acastus exclaimed. "My dear, sweet Harry, how tempting your personality makes you! Say, do you think you would like to accompany me to bed? I'd love to make you sc—"

Harry laughed when the pillow hit Acastus with enough force to knock him off the sofa. "Prat," he said half-heartedly. "Oh, that reminds me! Do you have what I asked for?"

Acastus scowled and retrieved the book that lay forgotten near the fireplace. "I dropped it after you attacked me with a book off of Hermione's 'Light Reading' list," he said sarcastically.

"Serves you right." Harry stuck his tongue at the other vampire. He accepted the book and flipped through it, smiling slightly. "Your clan never ceases to amaze me with their information-gathering skills."

"Our clan," Acastus corrected. "And I know, right? We're awesome."

Harry chuckled. "Right, our clan."

"You know, you looking through that is kind of hypocritical," Acastus pointed out. "You don't want the Cullens to know about you, yet you're researching them."

Harry pouted, aware of that small feeling of guilt he already had and was trying to get rid of. "I said I wouldn't tell them anything," he said softly. "They've already researched me on the internet which, by the way, I'll need your help to sue that website. I never said I wouldn't give them background checks."

Acastus shook his head. "Severus corrupted you."

"Snape did nothing of the sort," Harry retorted. "It's common sense. I told them I wouldn't tell them about my life. I never said I wouldn't look up theirs. Technically speaking, everything I'm doing is perfectly fine and doesn't make me a hypocrite."

"I'm more than positive Severus had something to do with your Slytherin side flourishing so," Acastus argued. "All of those times spent with him—"

"Was to help me with the war," Harry finished. "Most of the time he berated me, took off points from Gryffindor, and made snide remarks."

"You've picked up more than a few of those habits."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Maybe," he murmured as he flipped through the book. "I thought their lives would be exciting."

Acastus chuckled. "Why ever would you think that?"

"Honestly! When you have all the time in the world to do whatever the hell you wanted, why on earth would you spend all of that time repeating school? Yuck!"

Acastus moved to sit next to Harry. "Instead of living in the Muggle world, they could make use of those degrees in the Wizarding one," he noted as he looked at the accomplishments of the family. "But, they probably started their lives all over again continuously so they could protect their secret. There are very few Muggle veggie vampires that they can actually call friends and it wouldn't do to allow someone to get so close to them. They probably value their privacy."

Harry sighed. He closed the book before he or Acastus could read any further and chucked it into the fireplace. "Okay, maybe you're right," he grumbled. "It's not my place to snoop."

Acastus ruffled Harry's hair and smiled at Harry's attempt to hide the guilt he felt. "I knew you'd see things my way," he chirped happily. "Now, if I could only get you into bed w—"

Harry lightly punched Acastus on the shoulder. "Is that the only thing on your mind?" he teased.

Acastus smirked. "Yes, actually," he admitted. "Though, I must admit, I didn't expect you to be so happy right now. Your moods change faster than a woman on her monthlies."

Harry laughed and Acastus noted that it sounded a tiny bit strained. "I'm not angry anymore. I'm just really annoyed. For once in my life, I was going to run things my way. I was going to make my own choices and have complete control of my life. It seems that, instead, my plan was ruined. I know Ron and Hermione didn't mean to basically kill my dream of having a somewhat normal life, but it happened. It's as if I really am sixteen years old again with the weight of the world on my shoulders and no say in what I do. Everything is practically going down the drain."

Acastus looked at him seriously. "You do have a say, Harry. Granted, things may not have gone according to the way you planned them, but you chose to come to Forks. Now you can choose what'll happen while you're here."

"How can I possibly choose what will happen? Things happen whether I want them to or not."

Acastus rolled his eyes. "Yes, things will happen regardless of what you do," he confessed, "but you can choose when they happen. Like, you choose whether or not the Cullens will know that you're a vampire. You make the decisions you want and deal with the consequences. Trust me, Harry; you'll have the control you desire."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Acastus," he said, kissing his Sire on the cheek. "I feel better now."

"With a reward like that, you'll have to be sadder often," he drawled. "I can make you feel better in other ways, too…"

Harry swatted his arm. "Just help me sue the owner of the website," he whined. "You're better at the legal crap than I am."

Acastus nodded. "Yes, I know. I'm just awesome like that," he gloated.

"Get on with it!" Harry demanded. "Shoo! Find out who created the site and the laws regarding privacy in the Wizarding World."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Acastus mock saluted and walked to the fireplace. He stopped and turned to Harry, "A kiss for good luck?"

"Go!"

The blond vampire pouted before throwing Floo powder into the fire place and disappearing. Harry chuckled and shook his head, smiling. He walked to the kitchen and began to clean the dishes, easily and quickly making the kitchen spotless once again. When his house was neat and tidy, Harry went up the stairs to take a bath. He loved the old human habit and didn't really wish to part with it.

Harry filled the tub and began to strip. Though turning into a vampire caused his skin to become marble smooth and removed any imperfections, Harry was extremely happy that his tattoo remained. It was on the back of his right shoulder and he had gotten it secretly on his fifteenth birthday. Sirius had helped him sneak out of the house and to a Muggle tattoo parlor, laughing boisterously and encouraging his "teenage rebellion." The tattoo was small and very special to him. It was of a proud-looking stag with a flower, a lily, in its mouth. Above the tattoo was 'James' and below it was 'Lily'. Harry loved it.

When the tub was full, Harry immediately hopped in. The water was warm, but he knew his own cold body would soon change the temperature. He briefly wondered if he could add a black dog to his tattoo now that he was a vampire. With a sigh, Harry let his thoughts wander to the Cullens. A part of him was annoyed that his magic had been discovered. He just wanted a normal life. That was his hope ever since his life was continuously exploited during his years at Hogwarts. Harry knew he wouldn't really ever have some resemblance of normalcy, so a part of him expected something like this to happen. Still…

Harry bit his lip. It was completely unexpected when he met veggie vampires such as himself in a Muggle town named Forks of all things. Though they had only recently met, Harry felt completely relaxed in their presence. This worried him and he had to constantly remind himself to keep his guard up. Fighting in the war had caused Harry to become more cautious, though Ron tended to call it paranoid.

The vampire in him encouraged him to be wary of the Cullens lest they decide he's a threat and attempt to eradicate him. The magic in him, however, disagreed. Because he was a wizard longer than he was a vampire, his magic tended to read things more accurately and Harry tended to follow that instinct. His magic had already felt the aura of the veggie vampires and deemed them unworthy of his suspicions

The fact remained that Harry didn't know them. Sure, Carlisle and Esme seemed to be kind, caring parents. Sure, Emmett seemed like a giant teddy bear. Sure, Jasper seemed like he'd do anything to protect his family. Sure, Rosalie seemed like a frigid bitch. Sure, Alice seemed like she really could be his best friend. Sure, Edward seemed like an arrogant prick. Still, he didn't actually know them. They could be completely different than what they seemed, though Harry was pretty sure he had Rosalie and Edward Cullen's personalities down to the T.

Speaking of Edward Cullen, Harry scowled. He didn't understand why that particular smug vampire got under his skin. For some reason, he was drawn to the irritating being that enjoyed making fun of him. A smirk came to his lips when he thought about the little competition he and Edward would be doing. Harry couldn't wait to win the lead in whatever musical was coming up and rub it in the other vampire's face.

He wasn't sure if he was competing against Edward to prove the vampire wrong or to just have some sort of contact with the vampire.

Harry scowled again and shook his head. He refused to think of such nonsense. Unplugging the drain, Harry quickly dried himself and put on clothes. A tingle passed through his body as the wards around his house informed him of Edward near his bedroom window. A devilish grin appeared on Harry's face before it was wiped clean off. He feigned ignorance as he walked into his bedroom and reached into the bedside table. Harry couldn't stop his smile when his fingers curled around his holly wand.

It felt nice to hold his wand again, though he had promised himself he wouldn't use it when he got to Forks. He figured that he could pretend to be a Muggle again and get his "normal" life. Harry knew he would break that promise to himself as he wordlessly swished his wand about. He laughed when Edward yelped as the tree branch broke from underneath him. Edward's string of curse words continued as Harry made his way downstairs and out of his house into his yard.

"Serves you right," Harry said, his eyes shining brightly as a few more chuckles escaped him. "Do you stalk every new person in town or am I just that special?"

Edward glared at him. "I wasn't stalking you," he grit out. "I actually came here to ask you a question."

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "By sneaking outside of my bedroom window?"

"If you were sleeping, I was going to go back home." Edward paused. "Wait, how did you know I was outside of your window?"

Harry grinned. "Magic," he whispered. "Come inside and ask your question so I can get to sleep."

Edward followed Harry silently, ignoring the way the other boy's hips swayed ever so slightly and how the pajama pants seemed to hug Harry's nice legs. He scowled and closed the door after him. "How accurate is this book?" he asked as soon as they entered Harry's living room.

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "You get right to it, don't you?" He shook his head slightly in amusement. "That book was written by a wizard and, though a good majority of the wizards are prejudice, this wizard studied all types of vampires for years. Why?"

Edward sat down and ran his hands through his hair. "Just wondering," he murmured. "I came across a passage that was kind of interesting and was curious as to whether or not it was true."

Harry nodded in understanding, not asking about the passage. "It's probably a lot to take in," he said, surprising himself with the soft tone of his voice. "And I'm fairly sure that blondie wouldn't take it well."

Edward looked up at Harry. "You don't know her," he said defensively. "She has a good reason for not trusting wizards; we all do."

Harry nodded again. "I'm sure you do. I wouldn't blame you," he admitted. "But, you're not the only one with a good reason to not trust another species. Just because you met a few bad wizards doesn't mean the whole lot is bad. I've met a set of horrible Muggles. That doesn't mean every single Muggle out there is terrible."

"I know," Edward agreed. "Do you know when the research group you were talking about will finish the potion to stop the bloodlust?"

Harry cocked his head. "I'm not sure, but I could check for you."

Edward seemed somewhat suspicious. "Do you need anything in return?"

Harry glared. "I can't do anything nice?"

"You've been anything but nice to me," Edward defended. "Civil at best."

"True," Harry agreed, "but I won't require anything. I was going to check anyways for a friend."

Edward's eyebrow lifted and he stood. "Right," he replied. "We'll return the book when we're finished."

Harry nodded his head. "Good. Now, I know you can't get enough of me, since this is the second time you've been to my house in the span of three hours, but I'd really like to get some sleep."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah," he agreed sarcastically. "You caught me in the act. How can I possibly go home if I haven't had enough time to soak up more of your presence?"

Harry buffed his nails on his shirt. "It's okay," he said, eyes full of pity. "I completely understand. But, you'll be seeing me at school tomorrow. That's all the time I can allow myself to spend with someone as irritating as you."

Edward glared as Harry smirked. "Goodbye, your Majesty," he said dryly. "Thank you for at least considering spending some time with me."

Harry laughed silently and followed Edward to the door. "Same time tomorrow for tutoring?"

Edward shook his head. "Drama club meeting tomorrow," he informed the Wizard. "Or are you too chicken to go through with our bet?"

"You wish," Harry scoffed. "I'll be there."

"Yeah, yeah," Edward dismissed, walking out of Harry's house and down the path.

"Hey, Cullen!" Harry called.

Edward turned around. "What is it now?" he asked, looking at Harry as if the other boy wasn't worth his time.

"You might want to tell Blondie Cullen to watch her back," Harry said sweetly. "You never know what'll happen."

Edward froze. "Are you threatening us?" he demanded angrily.

Harry laughed. "Nope," he said cheerfully. "Alice would see anything if I meant ill intent. I'm simply informing you that I didn't appreciate the slight she made about my werewolf godfather and come from a long line of pranksters. They were quite notorious while in school and they left me with a book of all of their creations. I must say, I never knew they would come in handy."

Edward blinked before shaking his head and walking away. "I'll do that."

Harry smirked as the vampire ran at superhuman speed to his home. As he went inside, he shook his head and informed himself that he definitely was not staring at Edward's butt or his muscular legs or—

Harry growled and stormed upstairs, hoping some meditating will clear the unwelcome images of Edward's form from his mind.

A/N: Okay, I know it's been forever. I apologize. I have no excuses, or rather I don't feel like writing them all down. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter. It's been cooking in the brain for quite some time. Reviews are always welcome.


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